Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

तोषयेद्विधिवद्देवं केतुं कल्मषनाशनम्

Transliteration

toṣayedvidhivaddevaṃ ketuṃ kalmaṣanāśanam

Translation

Selon le rite prescrit, il convient d’apaiser le divin Ketu, destructeur des souillures morales et rituelles.

Word by Word

• तोषयेत्: should propitiate/please
• तोषयेत्: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तुष् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; णिच्-प्रयोगः (causative sense: ‘to please’)

• विधिवत्: according to proper rite
• विधिवत्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधिवत् (अव्यय; विधि + वत्)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• देवम्: the god
• देवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• केतुम्: Ketu
• केतुम्: Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; देवस्य विशेषण-नाम

• कल्मषनाशनम्: destroyer of sin/impurity
• कल्मषनाशनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कल्मष-नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (केतुम्/देवम्); समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कल्मषस्य नाशनः)

Speaker

Unknown (narrative voice within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ketu-liṅga / Ketu worship at Prabhāsa

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotees complete a proper propitiation of Ketu: the liṅga shines calmly; offerings are orderly; the devotee’s posture shifts from anxiety to serenity, symbolizing kalmaṣa being washed away.

Characters & Entities

• Ketu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritually grounded devotion transforms adversity into purification; Ketu becomes a force for cleansing when approached dharmically.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, in the sequence describing the Ketu-liṅga worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Vidhivat toṣaṇa—propitiation according to proper ritual procedure.