Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

लुब्धक उवाच । सुराष्ट्रदेशे विख्यातो यस्मिन्देशे सरस्वती । वाडवं शिरसा धृत्वा प्रविष्टा लवणोदधौ

Transliteration

lubdhaka uvāca | surāṣṭradeśe vikhyāto yasmindeśe sarasvatī | vāḍavaṃ śirasā dhṛtvā praviṣṭā lavaṇodadhau

Translation

Le chasseur dit : «Dans la terre renommée de Surāṣṭra se trouve une contrée célèbre où la rivière Sarasvatī, portant sur sa tête le Vāḍava (feu souterrain), entre dans l’océan salé.»

Word by Word

• lubdhakaḥ: the hunter
• lubdhakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lubdhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• surāṣṭra-deśe: in the Surāṣṭra region
• surāṣṭra-deśe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surāṣṭra + deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: surāṣṭra + deśa (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः: ‘surāṣṭraḥ deśaḥ’); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• vikhyātaḥ: well-known
• vikhyātaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-khyāta (कृदन्त; √khyā धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• yasmin: in which
• yasmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (relative)

• deśe: region
• deśe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

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

• vāḍavam: the Vāḍava (submarine fire/being)
• vāḍavam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāḍava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• śirasā: with (her) head
• śirasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• dhṛtvā: having carried/borne
• dhṛtvā: Kriya (Non-finite/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); ‘having borne/held’

• praviṣṭā: entered
• praviṣṭā: Kriya (Resultant state/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-viṣṭa (कृदन्त; √viś धातु)
• Form: क्त (past participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि-भावः (she entered)

• lavaṇa-udadhau: into the salt ocean
• lavaṇa-udadhau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lavaṇa + udadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: lavaṇa + udadhi (कर्मधारयः: ‘lavaṇaḥ udadhiḥ’); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

Speaker

Lubdhaka (the hunter)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī-samudra-praveśa (Prabhāsa littoral)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devendra (Indra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The hunter describes famed Saurashtra where Sarasvatī, bearing the Vāḍava fire upon her head, enters the salt ocean—an image of a luminous river meeting the sea with a subtle fiery aura.

Characters & Entities

• Surāṣṭra
• Sarasvatī
• Vāḍava
• Lavaṇodadhi (salt ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are revealed through sacred geography—rivers, oceans, and mythic markers become signs guiding pilgrims to tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Surāṣṭra region connected with Sarasvatī’s ocean-entry, within the Prabhāsa sacred landscape leading toward Vastrāpatha Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse sets a pilgrimage-location marker rather than a direct rite.