Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

घृतेन दीपकं तत्र या नारी संप्रयच्छति । रक्तवर्त्या महादेवि यावंतस्तत्र तंतवः । तावज्जन्मांतराण्येव सा सौभाग्यमवाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

ghṛtena dīpakaṃ tatra yā nārī saṃprayacchati | raktavartyā mahādevi yāvaṃtastatra taṃtavaḥ | tāvajjanmāṃtarāṇyeva sā saubhāgyamavāpnuyāt

Translation

Ô Grande Déesse, la femme qui y offre une lampe nourrie de ghee, à mèche rouge—autant il y a de fils dans cette mèche, autant de naissances futures elle obtiendra la bonne fortune.

Word by Word

• ghṛtena: with ghee
• ghṛtena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• dīpakam: a lamp
• dīpakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīpaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• yā: who (woman)
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• nārī: woman
• nārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; apposition to yā

• saṃprayacchati: offers, gives
• saṃprayacchati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra+yam (धातु) उपसर्ग-सम्+प्र (सम्+प्र+यम्)
• Form: लट् (Present); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• raktavartyā: with a red wick
• raktavartyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rakta (प्रातिपदिक) + vartī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (descriptive: "red wick"); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative/8th), एकवचन

• yāvantaḥ: as many as
• yāvantaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक/परिमाणवाचक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (of taṃtavaḥ)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• taṃtavaḥ: threads (of the wick)
• taṃtavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taṃtu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• tāvat: that many
• tāvat: Karma (Extent/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक/परिमाणवाचक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; परिमाणवाचक विशेषण (of janmāntarāṇi)

• janma-antarāṇi: other births, successive births
• janma-antarāṇi: Karma (Extent/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative: "other births"/"birth-intervals"); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• eva: indeed
• eva: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण निपात (emphatic: "indeed/only")

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• saubhāgyam: good fortune
• saubhāgyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saubhāgya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• avāpnuyāt: may obtain
• avāpnuyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava+āp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced from immediate chapter-context; explicit speaker appears at Adhyāya 60 opening)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Mahādevī-sthāna)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A woman offers a ghee lamp with a vivid red wick before Mahādevī; the lamp flame is shown splitting into many subtle rays, each ray symbolizing a future birth of auspiciousness.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Mahādevī (Śakti/Devī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A small, sincere act of offering light at a tīrtha becomes a long-lasting merit, ripening as auspiciousness across many lives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, within the Skanda Purāṇa’s Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dīpa-dāna: offering a ghee lamp, specifically with a red wick, at the sacred place.