Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

उद्धृता मत्स्यरूपेण वेदा उदधिमध्यतः । कूर्मरूपी तथा भूत्वा क्षीरोदार्णवमंथनम्

Transliteration

uddhṛtā matsyarūpeṇa vedā udadhimadhyataḥ | kūrmarūpī tathā bhūtvā kṣīrodārṇavamaṃthanam

Translation

Sous la forme du Poisson (Matsya), Tu as sauvé les Veda du milieu de l’océan ; et de même, devenu la Tortue (Kūrma), Tu as soutenu le barattage de l’Océan de Lait.

Word by Word

• उद्धृता: were rescued/lifted
• उद्धृता: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया-भाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + हृ (धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘उद्धृत’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचनम् (वेदाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• मत्स्यरूपेण: in the fish-form
• मत्स्यरूपेण: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत्स्य + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (मत्स्यस्य रूपम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचनम्

• वेदाः: the Vedas
• वेदाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचनम्

• उदधिमध्यतः: from the middle of the ocean
• उदधिमध्यतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उदधि + मध्य + तस् (अव्ययीभाव-निबद्ध)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb)

• कूर्मरूपी: (you) being in tortoise-form
• कूर्मरूपी: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कूर्म + रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (कूर्मस्य रूपी/रूपवान्); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्

• तथा: likewise, also
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Sambandha (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• क्षीरोदार्णवमंथनम्: the churning of the Milk Ocean
• क्षीरोदार्णवमंथनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षीर + उद + अर्णव + मन्थन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (क्षीरोदस्य अर्णवस्य मन्थनम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचनम्

Speaker

Devas (continuing the hymn)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Jagannātha (Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two linked tableaux: Matsya diving into the ocean depths to retrieve the Vedas; Kūrma bearing Mount Mandara on his back as Devas and Asuras churn the Milk-Ocean with Vāsuki as rope, treasures emerging.

Characters & Entities

• Matsya
• Vedas
• Ocean (Udadhi)
• Kūrma
• Kṣīroda (Milk-Ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Revelation (Veda) and cosmic order are preserved by divine care; the Lord becomes the support when the world needs a foundation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, through a hymn that magnifies the Lord whose presence sanctifies the kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse encourages avatāra-smaraṇa (remembrance of incarnations) as devotional practice.