Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

यावदायांति मुनय ईशेशेति प्रभाषकाः । धावमानाः स्वतपसा द्योतयन्तो दिशोदश

Transliteration

yāvadāyāṃti munaya īśeśeti prabhāṣakāḥ | dhāvamānāḥ svatapasā dyotayanto diśodaśa

Translation

Quand les sages arrivèrent en criant : «Ô Seigneur, ô Seigneur !», ils s’élancèrent, et par leur propre tapas firent flamboyer les dix directions.

Word by Word

• yāvat: until; as long as
• yāvat: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययम् (indeclinable); काल-परिमाणार्थकं/यावत् = 'as long as, until'

• āyānti: (they) come
• āyānti: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √i (इ) + ā- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), बहुवचनम्; धातु: इ (to go) + आ- (towards) = 'they come'

• munayaḥ: sages
• munayaḥ: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (मुनि) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः; प्रथमा (1st case), बहुवचनम्

• īśa: O Lord
• īśa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśa (ईश) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः; सम्बोधन-एकवचनम् (Vocative singular) (इति-उक्तौ)

• īśa: O Lord
• īśa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśa (ईश) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः; सम्बोधन-एकवचनम् (Vocative singular) (पुनरुक्ति)

• iti: thus
• iti: Vākyārtha-sūcaka (Quotation marker/इति-प्रयोग)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (इति)
• Form: अव्ययम्; इति-उक्त्यर्थकं (quotative particle)

• prabhāṣakāḥ: utterers (of the cry)
• prabhāṣakāḥ: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता) (munayaḥ-विशेषण/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāṣaka (प्रभाषक) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः; प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचनम्; 'speakers/utterers'

• dhāvamānāḥ: running
• dhāvamānāḥ: Kartṛ-viśeṣaṇa (Agent qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dhāv (धाव्) (धातु) + शतृ (present active participle)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्तम्; पुंलिङ्गः; प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; 'running'

• sva-tapasā: by their own austerity
• sva-tapasā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (स्व) + tapas (तपस्) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: स्वस्य तपसा); नपुंसकलिङ्गः (तपस्); तृतीया (3rd), एकवचनम्

• dyotayantaḥ: illuminating
• dyotayantaḥ: Kartṛ-viśeṣaṇa (Agent qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dyut (द्युत्) (धातु) + णिच् (causative) + शतृ
• Form: णिजन्त-धातोः वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्तम्; पुंलिङ्गः; प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; 'causing to shine/illuminating'

• diśaḥ: directions
• diśaḥ: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (दिश्) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः; द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचनम्

• daśa: ten
• daśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśa (दश) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-विशेषणम्; (diśaḥ इति पदस्य विशेषणम्) स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया, बहुवचनार्थे

Speaker

Śiva (Mahēśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A procession of running sages, hair and garments streaming, mouths open in the cry 'Īśeśa'; from their bodies emanate rays like sunbeams, lighting the ten directions—east to zenith—over the coastal sacred land.

Characters & Entities

• Munis (sages)
• Īśa (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity empowered by devotion becomes spiritual radiance that transforms one’s world and direction of life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where sages’ tapas and Śiva-bhakti are depicted as cosmically luminous.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal ritual is stated; the verse highlights tapas and vocal remembrance/calling upon Īśa.