Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 137

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । तत उत्सारयामास शिलाजालानि सर्वशः । धनुष्कोट्या ततो वैन्यस्तेन शैला विवर्द्धिताः

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tata utsārayāmāsa śilājālāni sarvaśaḥ | dhanuṣkoṭyā tato vainyastena śailā vivarddhitāḥ

Translation

Īśvara dit : «Alors Vainya repoussa de toutes parts les amas de rochers; et, de la pointe de son arc, il les façonna—ainsi les montagnes furent formées et s’élevèrent.»

Word by Word

• ईश्वरः: Īśvara (Lord)
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; काल/क्रमवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal/sequential adverb)

• उत्सारयामास: drove out; expelled; removed
• उत्सारयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत्+सृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Periphrastic perfect/परस्मैपद-लिट्), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); प्रेरणार्थक (causative sense: ‘caused to move out/expelled’)

• शिलाजालानि: nets/masses of rocks
• शिलाजालानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिला (प्रातिपदिक) + जाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural); षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-समासार्थे ‘शिलानां जालानि/शिलामयजालानि’

• सर्वशः: everywhere; completely
• सर्वशः: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वशः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner: ‘in every way/entirely’)

• धनुष्कोट्या: with the bow-tip
• धनुष्कोट्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् (प्रातिपदिक) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular); ‘धनुषः कोट्या’ (with the tip/end of the bow)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (sequential adverb)

• वैन्यस्तेन: by Vainya (Pṛthu)
• वैन्यस्तेन: Kartr̥/Agent-instrumental (कर्ता-तृतीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैन्य (प्रातिपदिक) + तेन (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक ‘तद्’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular); ‘वैन्य’ = पृथु (son of Vena); तेन = ‘by him’

• शैलाः: mountains
• शैलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• विवर्द्धिताः: were increased; were made to grow
• विवर्द्धिताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रियापद)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि+वृध् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘वर्धिताः’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) as narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual frame)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vainya/Pṛthu, bow in hand, drives away rock-masses; with the bow-tip he carves and raises mountains—dynamic motion, flying stones, newly formed ridges under a vast sky.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Vainya (Pṛthu)
• Śaila (mountains)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma empowers rightful authority to transform chaos into order—landscape itself becomes aligned to support life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra is the overarching sacred setting; the verse contributes to its Māhātmya by narrating primordial ordering associated with the region’s sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a mythic account of earth’s structuring under a dharmic ruler.