Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 60

Devanagari script

पर्वतानां यथा मेरुः सिन्धूनां सागरो यथा । प्राणो यथा शरीराणामिन्द्रियाणां तु वै मनः

Transliteration

parvatānāṃ yathā meruḥ sindhūnāṃ sāgaro yathā | prāṇo yathā śarīrāṇāmindriyāṇāṃ tu vai manaḥ

Translation

പർവ്വതങ്ങളിൽ മേരു എങ്ങനെയോ, നദികളിൽ സാഗരം എങ്ങനെയോ; ശരീരങ്ങൾക്ക് പ്രാണൻ എങ്ങനെയോ, ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങൾക്ക് നിശ്ചയമായും മനസ്സ് അങ്ങനെയേ—।

Word by Word

• पर्वतानाम्: of mountains
• पर्वतानाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Genitive, Plural)

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative marker/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative indeclinable: ‘as/like’)

• मेरुः: Meru
• मेरुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• सिन्धूनाम्: of rivers
• सिन्धूनाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Genitive, Plural)

• सागरः: the ocean
• सागरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative marker/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative indeclinable)

• प्राणः: life-breath
• प्राणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative marker/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative indeclinable)

• शरीराणाम्: of bodies
• शरीराणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Neuter, Genitive, Plural)

• इन्द्रियाणाम्: of the senses
• इन्द्रियाणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Neuter, Genitive, Plural)

• तु: indeed/and
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; contrast/emphasis)

• वै: certainly
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• मनः: the mind
• मनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nominative, Singular)

Speaker

Brahmā and Maheśa (continued, implied)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī Dvārakā (kṣetra personified)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: Meru towering, ocean vast, a subtle depiction of prāṇa as luminous breath in a body, and mind as a charioteer of senses—these metaphors visually converge to imply Dvārakā’s supremacy.

Characters & Entities

• Meru
• Ocean (Sāgara)
• Prāṇa
• Manas (Mind)
• Dvārakā (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual greatness is conveyed through cosmic hierarchies: the highest reality or locus supports and crowns the rest.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The comparisons prepare for the declaration of Dvārakā’s supremacy in the following verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a eulogy using philosophical and cosmic analogies.