Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि अनिलेश्वरमुत्तमम् । तस्योत्तरेशानदिक्स्थं धनुषां त्रितये प्रिये

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi anileśvaramuttamam | tasyottareśānadiksthaṃ dhanuṣāṃ tritaye priye

Translation

ഈശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ഹേ മഹാദേവി, തുടർന്ന് ഉത്തമമായ അനിലേശ്വരനിലേക്കു പോകണം. പ്രിയേ, അത് അതിന്റെ വടക്കായി ഈശാന ദിക്കിൽ മൂന്നു ധനുസ്സിന്റെ ദൂരത്തിൽ സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നു.

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Lord)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Sequence/Context)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रम/अपादानार्थक (then/from there)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Injunction/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahādevī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• anileśvaram: Anileśvara
• anileśvaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anila + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (अनिलस्य ईश्वरः)

• uttamam: supreme
• uttamam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (anileśvaram इति)

• tasya: of it/of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• uttareśānadikstham: situated in the northern part of the Īśāna direction (northeast)
• uttareśānadikstham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara + īśāna + dik + stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (ईशान-दिशि उत्तरभागे स्थितम्) विशेषणम् (anileśvaram/स्थानम् implied)

• dhanuṣām: of bows (as a measure)
• dhanuṣām: Sambandha (Measure/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanuṣ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; परिमाणवाचक-सम्बन्ध

• tritaye: in/within a triad (three)
• tritaye: Adhikarana (Measure/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tritaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; परिमाण/अधिकरण (within a set of three)

• priye: O beloved
• priye: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Anileśvara

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva instructs Pārvatī, pointing toward the Īśāna (northeast) direction; in the background, a small Anileśvara shrine is shown a short distance away, marked as ‘three bow-lengths’ from the prior spot.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Devī (Pārvatī)
• Anileśvara
• Īśāna (northeast)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is taught as a guided pilgrimage sequence, where moving from shrine to shrine is itself a dharmic practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Anileśvara in Prabhāsa Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A yātrā instruction: proceed to Anileśvara, identified by precise directional and distance markers.