Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

त्रिःसप्तकृत्वः पृथिवीं जित्वा हत्वा च क्षत्रियान् । कृत्वा पंचनदं तत्र कुरुक्षेत्रे महामनाः

Transliteration

triḥsaptakṛtvaḥ pṛthivīṃ jitvā hatvā ca kṣatriyān | kṛtvā paṃcanadaṃ tatra kurukṣetre mahāmanāḥ

Translation

ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತೊಂದು ಬಾರಿ ಭೂಮಿಯನ್ನು ಜಯಿಸಿ ಕ್ಷತ್ರಿಯರನ್ನು ಸಂಹರಿಸಿ, ಆ ಮಹಾಮನಸ್ಸು ಕರುಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಪಂಚನದವನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಿದನು.

Word by Word

• त्रिःसप्तकृत्वः: twenty-one times
• त्रिःसप्तकृत्वः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: त्रिः (अव्यय) + सप्त (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + कृत्वस्/कृत्वः (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; क्रियाविशेषणम् (frequency adverb)

• पृथिवीम्: the earth
• पृथिवीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्

• जित्वा: having conquered
• जित्वा: Kriyā (Gerundial/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जि (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having conquered)

• हत्वा: having killed
• हत्वा: Kriyā (Gerundial/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having slain)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• क्षत्रियान्: kṣatriyas (warriors)
• क्षत्रियान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचनम्

• कृत्वा: having made
• कृत्वा: Kriyā (Gerundial/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having made/done)

• पञ्चनदम्: (the land of) five rivers / Pañcanada
• पञ्चनदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या) + नद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्; द्विगु-समास (five rivers)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• कुरुक्षेत्रे: in Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुक्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचनम्; समासः: कुरूणाम् + क्षेत्रम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• महामनाः: great-minded
• महामनाः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महामनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्; बहुव्रीहि: महत् + मनस् (whose mind is great)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pañcanada (at Kurukṣetra)

Type: sangam

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A heroic yet morally heavy tableau: Paraśurāma’s conquest and kṣatriya-slaying is recalled; then the scene shifts to Kurukṣetra where he establishes/marks Pañcanada—rivers or watercourses converging, ritual implements, solemn resolve.

Characters & Entities

• Jāmadagnya Rāma (Paraśurāma)
• Kṣatriyas
• Kurukṣetra
• Pañcanada

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Immense worldly victory and violence still demand dharmic reckoning, often redirected into sanctifying acts tied to sacred places.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kurukṣetra—specifically the Pañcanada area—invoked as a potent sacred landscape within the wider tīrtha network.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it mentions the creation/establishment of Pañcanada at Kurukṣetra as a sanctifying act.