Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

ऐंद्रवारुणमाश्रित्य गोमुखादाऽश्वमेधिकम् । अत्रांतरे महादेवि शिवक्षेत्रं विदुर्बुधाः

Transliteration

aiṃdravāruṇamāśritya gomukhādā'śvamedhikam | atrāṃtare mahādevi śivakṣetraṃ vidurbudhāḥ

Translation

Bersandar pada kawasan suci yang terkait Indra dan Varuṇa, dari Gomukha hingga tīrtha Aśvamedhika, wilayah di antaranya, wahai Mahādevī, dikenal para bijak sebagai kṣetra suci Śiva.

Word by Word

• ऐन्द्रवारुणम्: the Aindra and Vāruṇa (rite/section)
• ऐन्द्रवारुणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऐन्द्र + वारुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—ऐन्द्रः च वारुणः च (द्वन्द्व)

• आश्रित्य: having resorted to
• आश्रित्य: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-श्रि (धातु) + क्त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), ‘having resorted to/depending on’

• गोमुखात्: from Gomukha
• गोमुखात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समासः—गोः मुखम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• अश्वमेधिकम्: Aśvamedhika (tīrtha)
• अश्वमेधिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (तीर्थनाम)

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• अन्तरे: in between, within
• अन्तरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘in the interval/within’

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; समासः—महती देवी (कर्मधारय)

• शिवक्षेत्रम्: Śiva’s sacred region
• शिवक्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—शिवस्य क्षेत्रम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• विदुः: know
• विदुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• बुधाः: the wise (people)
• बुधाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator addressing Mahādevī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aindravāruṇa–Gomukha–Aśvamedhika Śiva-kṣetra tract

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred map-like panorama: markers ‘Gomukha’, ‘Aindravāruṇa’, ‘Aśvamedhika’; Śiva indicates the span to Devī as a consecrated Śiva-domain.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādevī
• Śiva
• Indra
• Varuṇa
• Gomukha
• Aśvamedhika (tīrtha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography itself becomes dharma: recognizing Śiva’s kṣetra inspires faith, pilgrimage, and reverence for tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Śiva-kṣetra stretch in Prabhāsa, described as lying between Gomukha and the Aśvamedhika tīrtha, near the Indra–Varuṇa region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the verse primarily identifies and maps a Śiva-kṣetra.