Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

यः परं श्रूयते ज्योतिर्यः परं श्रूयते तपः । यः परं परतः प्रोक्तः परं यः परमात्मवान्

Transliteration

yaḥ paraṃ śrūyate jyotiryaḥ paraṃ śrūyate tapaḥ | yaḥ paraṃ parataḥ proktaḥ paraṃ yaḥ paramātmavān

Translation

彼は至上の光と聞かれ、至上の苦行（タパス）と聞かれる。最上をも超えると宣せられ、至上そのもの—パラマートマンの本性を具える。

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• param: supreme
• param: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘supreme’ (here predicative)

• śrūyate: is heard; is spoken of
• śrūyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive)

• jyotiḥ: light
• jyotiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyotis (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• param: supreme
• param: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• śrūyate: is heard
• śrūyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (श्रु)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि (passive)

• tapaḥ: austerity; penance
• tapaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• param: supreme
• param: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• parataḥ: from beyond; from another source
• parataḥ: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paratas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; उपपद/क्रियाविशेषण—‘from/than beyond; from another’

• proktaḥ: declared; spoken
• proktaḥ: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच्) + क्त (with प्र- उपसर्ग)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्तान्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि/कर्मवाच्य-भावः—‘declared/said’

• param: supreme
• param: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• paramātmavān: possessing the Supreme Self; the Supreme-Souled
• paramātmavān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + -vant (मतुप्/वन् प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (परम आत्मा) + वन्त् (possessive)

Speaker

A questioner within the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya dialogue (listener addressing the narrator/teacher)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous, formless radiance (parama-jyotis) emanates behind a subtle outline of the Lord; sages sit on the Prabhāsa shore listening, while a thin flame-like aura symbolizes tapas rising upward.

Characters & Entities

• Paramātman
• Jyotis
• Tapas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The highest reality is the Paramātman—supreme light and supreme tapas—known through śruti-like testimony and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra is the contextual site; the verse elevates the theological status of the Lord associated with Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; ‘tapas’ is mentioned as a supreme principle rather than a specific vrata.