Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

परमायुः स्मृतो ब्रह्मा परार्धं तस्य वै गतम् । उन्नतस्थानसंस्थस्य द्वितीयं भविताऽधुना

Transliteration

paramāyuḥ smṛto brahmā parārdhaṃ tasya vai gatam | unnatasthānasaṃsthasya dvitīyaṃ bhavitā'dhunā

Translation

On se souvient que Brahmā possède la durée de vie la plus suprême ; de celle-ci, en vérité, un parārdha s’est déjà écoulé. À présent, pour Celui qui demeure au Lieu Élevé (Unnata-sthāna), le second parārdha va commencer.

Word by Word

• परमायुः: the utmost lifespan
• परमायुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक) + आयुस्/आयुः (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमास (परमं आयुः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्मृतः: is said / is remembered
• स्मृतः: Karta (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past Passive Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘is said/remembered’ (agreeing with ‘ब्रह्मा’)

• ब्रह्मा: Brahmā
• ब्रह्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन्/ब्रह्मा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• परार्धम्: half of it (a parārdha)
• परार्धम्: Karma (Object/complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (परम् अर्धम् = latter half / supreme half); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तस्य: of him / of that
• तस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Possessor/Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Emphasis particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/खल्वर्थक अव्यय (indeed)

• गतम्: has passed
• गतम्: Kriya (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘gone/passed’ (agreeing with ‘परार्धम्’)

• उन्नतस्थानसंस्थस्य: of the one situated in an exalted station
• उन्नतस्थानसंस्थस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उन्नत (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थान (प्रातिपदिक) + संस्थ (प्रातिपदिक; सम्+स्था)
• Form: समास: उन्नत-स्थान-संस्थ (in an exalted station); तत्पुरुषप्रायः; पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (to ‘तस्य’/‘ब्रह्मणः’)

• द्वितीयम्: the second
• द्वितीयम्: Karma (Complement-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वितीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (to implied ‘परार्धम्’/‘अर्धम्’)

• भविता: will be
• भविता: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘will be’

• अधुना: now
• अधुना: Temporal adverb
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधुना (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (now)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Unnata-sthāna

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā seated at an elevated luminous platform (unnata-sthāna), with a cosmic clock motif: kalpa-wheels, flowing yuga-rivers, one parārdha marked as completed, the next beginning as dawn-like light.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Parārdha
• Unnata-sthāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha is linked to cosmic time and Brahmā’s divine station, magnifying the sanctity of the locale through Purāṇic cosmology.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Unnata-sthāna (the Elevated Place) within Prabhāsa Kṣetra, associated with Brahmā’s abiding presence and cosmic chronology.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse provides cosmological framing that supports the site’s greatness (māhātmya).