Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

एवं ते कथितं देवि पूजामाहात्म्यमुत्तमम् । प्रभासक्षेत्रमाहात्म्यं ब्रह्मणः बालरूपिणः

Transliteration

evaṃ te kathitaṃ devi pūjāmāhātmyamuttamam | prabhāsakṣetramāhātmyaṃ brahmaṇaḥ bālarūpiṇaḥ

Translation

ഹേ ദേവീ! ഇങ്ങനെ ഞാൻ നിനക്കു പൂജയുടെ ഉത്തമ മഹാത്മ്യം പറഞ്ഞു—ബാലരൂപനായ ബ്രഹ്മാവിന്റെ പ്രഭാസക്ഷേത്ര മഹാത്മ്യം।

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Prakāra (Manner/Discourse/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/उपसंहारार्थक (thus)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचनरूपम्; अत्र चतुर्थी (Dative) ‘to you’ अधिकयुक्तम्

• kathitam: told, related
• kathitam: Kriyā-phala (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kathita (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त—क्त, from √kath ‘to tell’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम्—(माहात्म्यम्) implied; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘told/related’

• devi: O Goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative); एकवचन

• pūjā-māhātmyam: the greatness of worship
• pūjā-māhātmyam: Karta (Grammatical subject of ‘kathitam’/कर्ता-स्थानी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūjā (प्रातिपदिक) + māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष—पूजायाः माहात्म्यम् (the greatness of worship)

• uttamam: excellent, supreme
• uttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषणम्—माहात्म्यम्

• prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmyam: the glory of the Prabhāsa sacred field
• prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmyam: Apposition (Same as pūjāmāhātmyam/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāsa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष—प्रभासक्षेत्रस्य माहात्म्यम्

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahmā
• brahmaṇaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• bāla-rūpiṇaḥ: who has a child-form
• bāla-rūpiṇaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष—बालरूपः यस्य (having the form of a child); विशेषणम्—ब्रह्मणः

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative voice within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya; addressing Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Bāla-Brahmā-adhivāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda addresses Devī, concluding a discourse on worship; behind them, a vision of Prabhāsa with a radiant child-form Brahmā seated on a lotus, indicating the kṣetra’s unique presence.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Brahmā (Bālarūpa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇic path elevates place and practice together: Prabhāsa’s sanctity is affirmed through the glory of worship performed there.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra is explicitly praised as a supremely meritorious sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It concludes a teaching on pūjā-māhātmya, implying worship at Prabhāsa, especially of Brahmā in bālarūpa.