Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

नवधा संस्थितस्यास्य नक्षत्राणि निबोध मे । कृत्तिका रोहिणी सौम्यं तृतीयं कूर्मपृष्ठिगम्

Transliteration

navadhā saṃsthitasyāsya nakṣatrāṇi nibodha me | kṛttikā rohiṇī saumyaṃ tṛtīyaṃ kūrmapṛṣṭhigam

Translation

നവധാ വിഭജിതമായ ഈ ഭാരതത്തിന്റെ നക്ഷത്രങ്ങളെ എന്നിൽ നിന്നു ഗ്രഹിക്കൂ. കൃത്തിക, രോഹിണി, സൗമ്യം (മൃഗശീർഷം)—ഈ മൂന്നും കൂർമ്മത്തിന്റെ പൃഷ്ഠത്തിൽ സ്ഥിതമാണെന്ന് പറയുന്നു.

Word by Word

• navadhā: in nine ways
• navadhā: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nava (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (in nine ways)

• saṃsthitasya: of (him) who is situated
• saṃsthitasya: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-√sthā (स्था धातु) (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक: संस्थित)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) से, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; पुं/नपुंसक; ‘of the situated one’

• asya: of this
• asya: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचन; ‘of this’

• nakṣatrāṇi: the constellations
• nakṣatrāṇi: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nakṣatra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; अत्र कर्मरूपे (objects to be understood)

• nibodha: understand/learn
• nibodha: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√budh (बुध् धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• me: from me
• me: Apadana (अपादान/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी, एकवचन; अत्र षष्ठी (from me/of me) = ‘from me’ (speaker)

• kṛttikā: Kṛttikā
• kṛttikā: Karta (कर्ता/List item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛttikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नक्षत्रनाम

• rohiṇī: Rohiṇī
• rohiṇī: Karta (कर्ता/List item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rohiṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नक्षत्रनाम

• saumyam: Saumya (Mṛgaśīrṣa)
• saumyam: Karta (कर्ता/List item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saumya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नक्षत्रनाम (मृगशीर्ष)

• tṛtīyam: the third
• tṛtīyam: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक विशेषण (the third)

• kūrma-pṛṣṭhigam: situated on the tortoise’s back
• kūrma-pṛṣṭhigam: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier of saumyam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kūrma (प्रातिपदिक) + pṛṣṭhi (प्रातिपदिक) + ga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कूर्मस्य पृष्ठि (षष्ठी) + ग (गम्-प्रत्यय/‘going to/located at’) = ‘on the tortoise’s back’

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual frame)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage instructs a listener, pointing to a stylized tortoise-shaped Bhārata-map; three star-emblems (Kṛttikā, Rohiṇī, Mṛgaśīrṣa/Saumya) glow on the tortoise’s back, with Prabhāsa’s coastal shrine hinted in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Nakṣatra
• Kṛttikā
• Rohiṇī
• Mṛgaśīrṣa (Saumya)
• Kūrma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The heavens and the sacred land are interwoven—astral order becomes a contemplative map of dharma within Bhārata.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a single tirtha; it presents a nakṣatra-based sacred mapping within the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it lists nakṣatras and their placement.