Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

बाल एव तु यत्रार्कस्तपस्तेपे पुरा प्रिये । तेन बालार्क इत्येतन्नाम ख्यातं धरातले

Transliteration

bāla eva tu yatrārkastapastepe purā priye | tena bālārka ityetannāma khyātaṃ dharātale

Translation

愛しき者よ、昔、太陽神がなお幼子であった時にこの地で苦行（タパス）を修したゆえに、この場所は地上において「バーラールカ（幼き太陽）」の名で名高くなった。

Word by Word

• बालः: a child; (being) a child
• बालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• एव: indeed; only
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्यय-प्रकारः: निपात (emphatic particle)

• तु: but; and
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्यय-प्रकारः: निपात (contrastive particle)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, सम्बन्ध-प्रश्न/सम्बन्ध-निपात (relative adverb)

• अर्कः: the Sun
• अर्कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• तपः: austerity; penance
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• तेपे: performed (austerity)
• तेपे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद-रूप (तेपे)

• पुरा: formerly; long ago
• पुरा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• प्रिये: O beloved
• प्रिये: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचन (प्रिय-शब्दः स्त्रीलिङ्गे ‘प्रिया’; सम्बोधन ‘प्रिये’)

• तेन: therefore; by that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन

• बालार्कः: (it is called) Bālārka
• बालार्कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल + अर्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; समासः: बालार्क (कर्मधारय)

• इति: thus; as
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उद्धरण/इत्यादि-निपात (quotative particle)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (नाम)

• नाम: name
• नाम: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• ख्यातम्: is renowned; is known
• ख्यातम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ख्या (धातु) + त (कृत्)
• Form: कृत्प्रत्यय-रूप (क्त/त), भूतकर्मणि/भूतकाले कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; (नाम) इति सह

• धरातले: on the earth; on the ground
• धरातले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; समासः: धरायाः तलम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bālārka

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mythic tableau: a youthful Sun (child form) seated in meditation, radiating gentle yet potent light over a small tīrtha pool; sages and nature respond—lotuses open, birds circle—signifying tapas transforming the landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya (Arka)
• Devī
• Bālārka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tapas (austerity) is honored as a source of sanctity; even the gods model discipline to bless a place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bālārka, the Sun’s tīrtha named from the legend of the child-Sun’s austerities.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse explains the origin of the tīrtha’s name through the Sun’s tapas.