Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

अनादियुगसंस्थानं सर्व कामप्रदं शुभम् । संसारसागरे घोरे स्थितं नौरिव तारणे

Transliteration

anādiyugasaṃsthānaṃ sarva kāmapradaṃ śubham | saṃsārasāgare ghore sthitaṃ nauriva tāraṇe

Translation

無始の時代より स्थापितされた古き聖なるもの、吉祥にして正しき願いをすべて授ける。恐るべき輪廻の大海にあって、渡しの舟のごとく立っている。

Word by Word

• अनादियुगसंस्थानम्: the beginningless-age-established (abode/structure)
• अनादियुगसंस्थानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनादि-युग-संस्थान (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; बहु-तत्पुरुषः (structure/abode pertaining to beginningless ages)

• सर्व: all
• सर्व: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘कामा’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• कामप्रदम्: wish-granting
• कामप्रदम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काम-प्रद (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (giver of desires)

• शुभम्: auspicious
• शुभम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• संसारसागरे: in the ocean of worldly existence
• संसारसागरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार-सागर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ocean of saṃsāra)

• घोरे: terrible
• घोरे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘संसारसागरे’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• स्थितम्: situated; standing
• स्थितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past passive participle/कृत्-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘स्थित’ = situated

• नौः: a boat
• नौः: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नौ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• इव: like
• इव: Sambandha (Comparison marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमावाचक (comparative particle)

• तारणे: for crossing over
• तारणे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; हेतौ/विषये (in the act/purpose of crossing)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (continued discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as ‘Deveśi/Devi/Sundarī’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast, dark ocean symbolizing saṃsāra; in the foreground a radiant sacred kṣetra like an island/boat, with pilgrims stepping aboard; auspicious emblems (kalasha, conch, trident/linga motifs) and a distant shoreline of liberation.

Characters & Entities

• Saṃsāra (worldly existence)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A true tīrtha is not only wish-fulfilling but also a means of liberation—helping one cross saṃsāra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sacred establishment in Prabhāsa Kṣetra (contextually Daityasūdana/Viṣṇu-kṣetra).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse gives a theological characterization of the site as salvific.