Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

सितांबरधरा देवी सितचंदनगुंठिता । शारदांबुदसंकाशा तारहारविभूषिता

Transliteration

sitāṃbaradharā devī sitacaṃdanaguṃṭhitā | śāradāṃbudasaṃkāśā tārahāravibhūṣitā

Translation

Sang Dewi mengenakan busana putih, diolesi pasta cendana putih; ia bercahaya laksana awan musim gugur dan berhias kalung mutiara.

Word by Word

• सिताम्बरधरा: wearing white garments
• सिताम्बरधरा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sita + ambara + dharā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि-समास (‘she who wears white garments’)

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• सितचन्दनगुंठिता: covered/anointed with white sandal paste
• सितचन्दनगुंठिता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sita + candana + guṃṭhita (प्रातिपदिक; √guṇṭh/guṃṭh)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle used adjectivally), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (‘covered/anointed with white sandal’)

• शारदाम्बुदसंकाशा: resembling autumn clouds
• शारदाम्बुदसंकाशा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śārada + ambuda + saṃkāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (‘resembling autumn clouds’)

• तारहारविभूषिता: adorned with a necklace of stars/pearls
• तारहारविभूषिता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāra + hāra + vibhūṣita (प्रातिपदिक; √bhūṣ)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle used adjectivally), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (‘adorned with a star/pearl necklace’)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) as narrator (continued)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied interlocutor(s)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sarasvatī appears in immaculate white—white garments, white sandal paste, pearl necklace—radiant like an autumn cloud, embodying purity and learning.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī (Devī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity, serenity, and luminous auspiciousness are marks of the divine presence revealed in a tīrtha-mahātmya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, where Sarasvatī’s divine form is described with auspicious, radiant qualities.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the imagery aligns with devotional customs of adorning the deity with clean garments and sandal paste.