Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि दुर्वासादित्यमुत्तमम् । यत्र दुर्वाससा तप्तं तपो वर्षसहस्रकम् । निराहारो जिताहारः सूर्याराधनतत्परः

Transliteration

tato gacchenmahādevi durvāsādityamuttamam | yatra durvāsasā taptaṃ tapo varṣasahasrakam | nirāhāro jitāhāraḥ sūryārādhanatatparaḥ

Translation

それから、ああ大女神よ、人は最勝の聖地「ドゥルヴァーサー・アーディティヤ」へ赴くべきである。そこでは聖仙ドゥルヴァーサが千年にわたり苦行を修し、断食し、食を制し、ただ太陽神スーリヤの礼拝に専心した。

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/from there
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Discourse/sequence marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अथ/अनन्तरम्; adverb)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष? (actually 3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; विधेय (injunctive: “should go”)

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक; महा + देवी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; संबोधन

• durvāsādityam: Durvāsā’s Āditya (Sun-shrine)
• durvāsādityam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durvāsā-āditya (प्रातिपदिक; दुर्वासा + आदित्य)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (object of going)

• uttamam: excellent/supreme
• uttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्धबोधक/स्थानवाचक relative adverb: “where”)

• durvāsasā: by Durvāsā
• durvāsasā: Karana (Instrument/Agentive means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durvāsas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/कर्तृसाधन (agent/instrument)

• taptam: performed/austerely done
• taptam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tap (तप् धातु) + ta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तपः इत्यस्य विशेषण

• tapaḥ: austerity/penance
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (of ‘taptam’)

• varṣasahasrakam: for a thousand years
• varṣasahasrakam: Visheshana (Measure/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: varṣa-sahasraka (प्रातिपदिक; वर्ष + सहस्रक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; परिमाणवाचक विशेषण

• nirāhāraḥ: without food
• nirāhāraḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-āhāra (प्रातिपदिक; निर् + आहार)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (of Durvāsā)

• jitāhāraḥ: having conquered appetite/controlled diet
• jitāhāraḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jita-āhāra (प्रातिपदिक; जिता (√ji) + आहार)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• sūryārādhanatatparaḥ: devoted to worship of the Sun
• sūryārādhanatatparaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sūrya-ārādhana-tatpara (प्रातिपदिक; सूर्य + आराधन + तत्पर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Deductive (Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya narrator addressing Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Durvāsāditya

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant Āditya shrine stands near the coastal sacred zone; sage Durvāsas, austere and fiery, performs long tapas—standing or seated in meditation—while the rising Sun casts golden light; pilgrims approach with arghya vessels.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādevī (addressed)
• Durvāsas
• Durvāsāditya (Sūrya shrine/tīrtha)
• Sūrya (Sun)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast tapas, self-restraint, and focused devotion (here to Sūrya) sanctify a place and make it a powerful destination for seekers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Durvāsāditya—an eminent Sūrya-associated tīrtha within Prabhāsa Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A yātrā instruction is given (“one should go”), and the model practice highlighted is fasting/regulated diet and Sūrya worship.