Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

एवं सरस्वती प्राप्ता प्रभासं क्षेत्रमुत्तमम् । ब्रह्मलोकान्महादेवि सर्वपापप्रणाशिनी

Transliteration

evaṃ sarasvatī prāptā prabhāsaṃ kṣetramuttamam | brahmalokānmahādevi sarvapāpapraṇāśinī

Translation

Ainsi Sarasvatī parvint, depuis Brahmaloka, au suprême lieu sacré de Prabhāsa, ô Grande Déesse — elle qui anéantit tous les péchés.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषणम्/adverb)

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī (river/goddess)
• सरस्वती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• प्राप्ता: having reached / arrived
• प्राप्ता: Kriyā (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (धातु) + प्र- (उपसर्ग) → prāpta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘having reached/arrived’

• प्रभासम्: Prabhāsa
• प्रभासम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• क्षेत्रम्: sacred place/field
• क्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: excellent, supreme
• उत्तमम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (क्षेत्रम्)

• ब्रह्मलोकात्: from Brahmā’s world (Brahmaloka)
• ब्रह्मलोकात्: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahma-loka (प्रातिपदिक; ब्रह्म + लोक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मणः लोकः)

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक; महा + देवी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः

• सर्वपापप्रणाशिनी: destroyer of all sins
• सर्वपापप्रणाशिनी: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva-pāpa-praṇāśinī (प्रातिपदिक; सर्व + पाप + प्रणाशिनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (सरस्वती); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषां पापानां प्रणाशिनी)

Speaker

Narrator (within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya; traditional frame: Sūta speaking to sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Sarasvatī-sannidhi)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (explicit vocative)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sarasvatī as a radiant goddess descends from a luminous Brahmaloka sky into Prabhāsa, her river-form flowing toward the sacred field; pilgrims and sages witness the purifying advent.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Brahmaloka
• Mahādevī (addressed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy presence (devī and tīrtha) is portrayed as a living force of purification that destroys accumulated sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, called “uttama kṣetra,” sanctified by Sarasvatī’s arrival.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not in this verse; it establishes Sarasvatī’s sanctifying presence at Prabhāsa.