Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

अनादिनिधना देवि भेदभिन्नास्तु ते पृथक् । एकादशस्वरूपेण पृथङ्नामप्रभेदतः

Transliteration

anādinidhanā devi bhedabhinnāstu te pṛthak | ekādaśasvarūpeṇa pṛthaṅnāmaprabhedataḥ

Translation

Ô Déesse, sans commencement ni fin, ils se distinguent chacun selon leurs différences : ils se manifestent en onze formes et se différencient par des noms distincts.

Word by Word

• अनादिनिधनाः: beginningless and endless
• अनादिनिधनाः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनादि-निधन (प्रातिपदिक; अनादि + निधन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन — ‘beginningless and endless’ (qualifying ‘ते/रुद्राः’)

• देवि: O goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• भेदभिन्नाः: distinct/differentiated
• भेदभिन्नाः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भेद-भिन्न (प्रातिपदिक; भेद + भिन्न)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन — ‘differentiated by distinctions’

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — ‘but/indeed’

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन — ‘they’

• पृथक्: separately
• पृथक्: Sambandha/Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/विशेषणवत्) — ‘separately, distinct’

• एकादशस्वरूपेण: by (their) eleven forms
• एकादशस्वरूपेण: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एकादश-स्वरूप (प्रातिपदिक; एकादश + स्वरूप)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — ‘by/with eleven forms’

• पृथङ्नामप्रभेदतः: because of the distinctions of separate names
• पृथङ्नामप्रभेदतः: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक्-नाम-प्रभेद (प्रातिपदिक; पृथक् + नामन् + प्रभेद)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास, पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्यय — ‘due to difference of separate names’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (eleven-form Rudra presence)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene doctrinal tableau: a single luminous Śiva-principle radiating into eleven labeled rays/forms, each ray becoming a liṅga-shrine within the Prabhāsa sacred map.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Ekādaśa (elevenfold)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The eternal divine reality is one, yet approached through many name-forms suited to devotion and sacred narration.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where these elevenfold manifestations are contextualized within the site’s sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; the verse provides theological framing for later prescriptions about worship.