Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

ततो युगसहस्रांते विबुद्धः कमलासनः । एकाकी चिंतयामास कथं सृष्टिर्भवेदिति

Transliteration

tato yugasahasrāṃte vibuddhaḥ kamalāsanaḥ | ekākī ciṃtayāmāsa kathaṃ sṛṣṭirbhavediti

Translation

പിന്നെ സഹസ്ര യുഗങ്ങളുടെ അവസാനം കമലാസനനായ ബ്രഹ്മാവ് ഉണർന്നു. ഏകാകിയായി അദ്ദേഹം ചിന്തിച്ചു—“സൃഷ്ടി എങ്ങനെ ഉണ്ടാകും?”

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रमसूचक adverb: “then”)

• yuga-sahasra-ante: at the end of a thousand yugas
• yuga-sahasra-ante: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuga-sahasra-anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (yuga + sahasra + anta “end of a thousand yugas”)

• vibuddhaḥ: awakened
• vibuddhaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-budh (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “प्रबुद्ध/जाग्रत”

• kamalāsanaḥ: the lotus-seated (Brahmā)
• kamalāsanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kamala-āsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (kamala + āsana “lotus-seat”, epithet of Brahmā)

• ekākī: alone
• ekākī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (kamalāsanaḥ)

• ciṃtayāmāsa: pondered
• ciṃtayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: cint (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; (आमास-प्रयोगः)

• katham: how
• katham: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रश्नवाचक: “how”)

• sṛṣṭiḥ: creation
• sṛṣṭiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• bhavet: might be / should come to be
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्धरणसमाप्तिसूचक: “thus”)

Speaker

Narrator (Pulastya context begins at 9; here implied Purāṇic narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā, lotus-seated, awakens after vast time; alone in an empty expanse, he contemplates the re-beginning of creation.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Kamalāsana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the cosmic creator begins with contemplation; creation is portrayed as arising from awakened awareness and divine order, not mere impulse.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sets a cosmological frame within the Arbuda section of the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa; the immediate verse itself does not name a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this verse.