Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

आहोक्ते पुंडरीकाक्ष और्वं हि वाडवं तदा । त्वां प्रापयिष्ये यत्रापः केन यानेन वाडव

Transliteration

āhokte puṃḍarīkākṣa aurvaṃ hi vāḍavaṃ tadā | tvāṃ prāpayiṣye yatrāpaḥ kena yānena vāḍava

Translation

Alors Puṇḍarīkākṣa dit à Vāḍava (Aurva) : «Je te conduirai là où sont les Eaux; mais par quel véhicule, ô Vāḍava ?»

Word by Word

• āho: ah!/indeed
• āho: Avyaya (Interjection/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: āho (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; विस्मय/सम्बोधनार्थक-निपातः (interjection)

• ukte: when it was said
• ukte: Saptami-absolute (Circumstance/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु) → ukta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (क्त-प्रत्ययः); नपुंसकलिङ्गे/पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘उक्ते’ = ‘(तस्मिन्) उक्ते’ (locative absolute sense)

• puṃḍarīkākṣa: O lotus-eyed one
• puṃḍarīkākṣa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṃḍarīka + akṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: पुंडरीक इव अक्षिणी यस्य सः (बहुव्रीहिः); पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• aurvam: Aurva (name)
• aurvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aurva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (नाम/विशेष्यरूपेण)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निश्चयार्थक-निपातः

• vāḍavam: Vāḍava (name)
• vāḍavam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāḍava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (सम्बोधनस्य/नाम्नः कर्मरूपेण)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Avyaya (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; कालवाचक-अव्ययम्

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम-रूपम्

• prāpayiṣye: I will cause (you) to reach
• prāpayiṣye: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra+√āp/√āp (धातु) (कारण-प्रयोगः)
• Form: लृट्-लकारः (भविष्यत्/future), उत्तमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्; णिच्-प्रत्ययार्थे causative sense ‘to cause to reach’

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-सम्बन्धबोधकः (where)

• āpaḥ: waters
• āpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ap (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे (अप्-शब्दः), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• kena: by what?
• kena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• yānena: by a vehicle
• yānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• vāḍava: O Vāḍava
• vāḍava: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāḍava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Puṇḍarīkākṣa (Viṣṇu)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Apāṃ-sthāna (within Prabhāsa-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied: sages/assembly receiving the Prabhāsa-māhātmya; within scene: Puṇḍarīkākṣa speaks to Vāḍava

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Puṇḍarīkākṣa (Viṣṇu) addresses Vāḍava/Aurva, asking by what conveyance he should be taken to the ‘abode of waters’; the setting hints at a coastal sacred landscape with ritual gravitas.

Characters & Entities

• Puṇḍarīkākṣa (Viṣṇu)
• Aurva
• Vāḍava
• Āpaḥ (Waters)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine guidance (Viṣṇu as Puṇḍarīkākṣa) directs powerful forces toward their proper destination and function.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The story belongs to Prabhāsakṣetra’s māhātmya framework, supporting the sacred prominence of Prabhāsa through mythic theology.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a narrative exchange about conveyance and reaching the Waters.