Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

गायत्र्यक्षरतत्त्वैस्तु ब्रह्माणं यस्तु पूजयेत् । उपोष्य पंचदश्यां तु स याति परमं पदम्

Transliteration

gāyatryakṣaratattvaistu brahmāṇaṃ yastu pūjayet | upoṣya paṃcadaśyāṃ tu sa yāti paramaṃ padam

Translation

ഗായത്രിയുടെ അക്ഷരതത്ത്വങ്ങളാൽ ബ്രഹ്മാവിനെ പൂജിച്ച്, പഞ്ചദശിയിൽ ഉപവസിക്കുന്നവൻ പരമ പദം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• गायत्री: of Gāyatrī
• गायत्री: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गायत्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Feminine, Genitive (6th), Singular

• अक्षरतत्त्वैः: by the principles/realities of the syllables
• अक्षरतत्त्वैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षर + तत्त्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Neuter, Instrumental (3rd), Plural; समासः: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अक्षरस्य तत्त्वम्) — Genitive Tatpurusha

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

• ब्रह्माणम्: Brahmā
• ब्रह्माणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

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

• पूजयेत्: should worship
• पूजयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Optative, 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• उपोष्य: having fasted
• उपोष्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उपवस् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव — Gerund; ‘having fasted’

• पञ्चदश्याम्: on the fifteenth (lunar day)
• पञ्चदश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चदशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Feminine, Locative (7th), Singular

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

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• याति: goes/attains
• याति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Present, 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• परमम्: supreme
• परमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; विशेषणम् (पदम्)

• पदम्: state/abode
• पदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a bright pañcadaśī night, a fasting devotee sits near the shrine with a japa-mālā; Brahmā is envisioned on a lotus, while Gāyatrī appears as radiant mantra-light encircling the devotee.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Gāyatrī
• Paurnimā/15th tithi (implied)
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mantra-essence plus disciplined fasting transforms worship into liberation-oriented practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where worship of Brahmā with Gāyatrī discipline is said to yield the highest fruit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship Brahmā using Gāyatrī’s akṣara-tattva and observe a fast on the fifteenth lunar day.