Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

शक्रादयस्ततो देवास्तीर्थान्यायतनानि च । आनयामास ब्रह्मर्षिस्तपसा पर्वतोत्तमे

Transliteration

śakrādayastato devāstīrthānyāyatanāni ca | ānayāmāsa brahmarṣistapasā parvatottame

Translation

അപ്പോൾ ശക്രാദി ദേവന്മാർ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളെയും പുണ്യായതനങ്ങളെയും അവിടെ കൊണ്ടുവന്നു; ബ്രഹ്മർഷി തന്റെ തപോബലത്താൽ അവയെ ആ ശ്രേഷ്ഠ പർവ്വതത്തിലേക്ക് ആകർഷിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• शक्र-आदयः: Śakra and others
• शक्र-आदयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन — ‘Śakra and others’

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha-bodhaka (Sequencer/सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — स्थान/क्रमवाचक (then/from there)

• देवाः: the gods
• देवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• तीर्थानि: holy fords/pilgrimage spots
• तीर्थानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• आयतनानि: shrines/abodes
• आयतनानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha-bodhaka (Connector/सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — समुच्चय (conjunction)

• आनयामास: brought
• आनयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+नी (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘brought’

• ब्रह्मर्षिः: the Brahmarṣi (great seer)
• ब्रह्मर्षिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — ‘Brahmarṣi’

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन — ‘by austerity’

• पर्वत-उत्तमे: on the best of mountains
• पर्वत-उत्तमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन — ‘on/in the best mountain’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda as tīrtha-samāhāra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra (Śakra) and devas descend carrying symbolic vessels of various tīrthas; a brahmarṣi in deep tapas radiates force that draws these sacred abodes toward the mountain’s summit.

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Devas
• Tīrthas
• Āyatanas
• Brahmarṣi
• Parvata (mountain)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity and divine cooperation sanctify geography, turning a mountain into a network of tīrthas and shrines.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda mountain region, presented as a convergence of multiple tīrthas and āyatanas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it describes the establishment/arrival of tīrthas and shrines through tapas and divine action.