Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

ततो वाराणसीं प्राप्तस्तद्भयात्त्रिपुरांतकः । तत्राऽपि च तथा दृष्ट्वा धृतचापं मनोभवम्

Transliteration

tato vārāṇasīṃ prāptastadbhayāttripurāṃtakaḥ | tatrā'pi ca tathā dṛṣṭvā dhṛtacāpaṃ manobhavam

Translation

അവന്റെ ഭയത്താൽ ത്രിപുരാന്തകൻ (ശിവൻ) വാരാണസിയിൽ എത്തി. അവിടെയും വില്ലേന്തിയ മനോഭവനെ (കാമനെ) കണ്ടപ്പോൾ, വീണ്ടും അതേ അവസ്ഥ തന്നെ കണ്ടു.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रम/हेतुवाचक (adverb: then/from there)

• वाराणसीम्: Vārāṇasī
• वाराणसीम्: Karma (Goal/कर्म-गति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्राप्तः: having reached
• प्राप्तः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle, क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तद्भयात्: from fear of that (him)
• तद्भयात्: Apadana (Source/Cause/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम) + भय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (तस्य भयम्)

• त्रिपुरान्तकः: Tripurāntaka (Śiva)
• त्रिपुरान्तकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिपुर (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (त्रिपुरस्य अन्तकः)

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

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अवधान (also/even)

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

• तथा: thus; likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb: thus/in that manner)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Gerund/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + क्त्वा (अव्यय-कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having seen)

• धृतचापम्: (him) holding a bow
• धृतचापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + चाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (धृतं चापं यस्य)

• मनोभवम्: Manobhava (Kāma)
• मनोभवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक) + भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मनसः भवः)

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king is addressed (‘nṛpa’) in the surrounding verses; immediate listener framed as the royal interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva as Tripurāntaka arrives at Kāśī’s ghāṭs and temples; amid the sacred city’s lamps and river mist, he beholds Kāma (Manobhava) standing firm with bow drawn, as if the same challenge has followed him into the holiest space.

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Tripurāntaka (Śiva)
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Manobhava (Kāma)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography interlinks tīrthas; divine movement across places highlights their shared sanctity under Śiva’s presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) is explicitly named, appearing within the wider Arbuda-Kāmeśvara narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated in this verse; it continues the sthala-kathā through Śiva’s journey to Kāśī.