Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

तावत्पातालमार्गेण यमुना प्रादुराभवत् । यमश्च भगवांस्तत्र दृष्टः क्षेत्रपरूपधृक्

Transliteration

tāvatpātālamārgeṇa yamunā prādurābhavat | yamaśca bhagavāṃstatra dṛṣṭaḥ kṣetraparūpadhṛk

Translation

ໃນຂະນະນັ້ນ ຍະມຸນາປາກົດຂຶ້ນທາງເສັ້ນທາງໃຕ້ດິນ. ແລະພຣະຍະມະຜູ້ຄວນເຄົາລົບ ກໍຖືກເຫັນຢູ່ນັ້ນ ໃນຮູບແຫ່ງຜູ້ພິທັກສາກຩະເຕຣະ.

Word by Word

• तावत्: then / just then
• तावत्: Kriya-viseshana (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तावदर्थक (then/so long/just then)

• पातालमार्गेण: by the path to the netherworld
• पातालमार्गेण: Karana (Means/Path)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक) + मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (पातालस्य मार्गः)

• यमुना: Yamunā (river-goddess)
• यमुना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यमुना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रादुर्: manifestly / into view
• प्रादुर्: Kriya-viseshana (Manner/Result)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रादुर् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्गसदृश क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial preverb: ‘manifestly/into view’)

• अभवत्: appeared / came to be
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ्-लकार (Aorist/Imperfect-like narrative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• यमः: Yama
• यमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• भगवान्: the venerable one / Lord
• भगवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• दृष्टः: was seen
• दृष्टः: Kriya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग ‘was seen’

• क्षेत्रपरूपधृक्: bearing a different form (in that sacred field)
• क्षेत्रपरूपधृक्: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Qualifier of Yama)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + पर-रूप (प्रातिपदिक) + धृक्/धृ (धातु-आधारित प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘क्षेत्रस्य परं रूपं धत्ते’ (bearing another form in/for the kṣetra)

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta continuing the account)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Yamunodbhava-tīrtha (Yamunā emergence) within Prabhāsa

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: From a hidden subterranean channel, Yamunā bursts forth as a clear stream into a sacred basin; nearby stands Yama, dignified and watchful, in the guise of the kṣetra’s guardian, as the sage observes.

Characters & Entities

• Yamunā
• Yama
• Kṣetrapāla (role/form)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrthas are sustained by hidden sacred currents and divine guardianship, revealing grace through both water (Yamunā) and law (Yama).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, where Yamunā is said to appear and Yama takes on a kṣetra-guardian role.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite here; it introduces the sacred manifestation that later supports bathing and ancestral offerings.