Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

भगवन्देवदेवेश संसारार्णवतारक । पृष्टं तु यन्मया पूर्वं तत्सर्वं कथितं हर

Transliteration

bhagavandevadeveśa saṃsārārṇavatāraka | pṛṣṭaṃ tu yanmayā pūrvaṃ tatsarvaṃ kathitaṃ hara

Translation

ഹേ ഭഗവൻ, ദേവദേവേശ, സംസാരസമുദ്രം കടത്തുന്ന താരകാ! ഞാൻ മുമ്പ് ചോദിച്ചതെല്ലാം നീ പറഞ്ഞുതീർത്തു, ഹേ ഹര.

Word by Word

• bhagavan: O Blessed Lord
• bhagavan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — Vocative singular

• deva-deva-īśa: O Lord of the god of gods
• deva-deva-īśa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन — Vocative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देवानां देवः) + तत्पुरुषः (देवदेवस्य ईशः)

• saṃsāra-arṇava-tāraka: O savior across the ocean of worldly existence
• saṃsāra-arṇava-tāraka: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक) + tāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन — Vocative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (संसारस्य अर्णवः) + तत्पुरुषः (संसारार्णवस्य तारकः)

• pṛṣṭam: (what was) asked
• pṛṣṭam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √prach (धातु) → pṛṣṭa (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन — past passive participle used substantively: “(that which is) asked”

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/अन्वयार्थे — “but/indeed”

• yat: which/what
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन — relative pronoun “which/what”

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Kartr̥ (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन — Instrumental singular “by me”

• pūrvam: previously/earlier
• pūrvam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — adverb of time

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन — demonstrative pronoun “that”

• sarvam: all/entire
• sarvam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन — adjective agreeing with तत्

• kathitam: has been told
• kathitam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kath (धातु) → kathita (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन — past passive participle: “told/related” (elliptic with ‘asti’)

• hara: O Hara (Śiva)
• hara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन — Vocative singular

Speaker

Devī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī addresses Śiva with epithets—Deva of devas, ferryman across saṃsāra—acknowledging that all prior questions have been answered; Śiva sits tranquil, compassionate.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Devadeveśa, Hara)
• Saṃsāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord is invoked as the liberator from saṃsāra, and true teaching is acknowledged with gratitude and clarity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing discourse concerns Prabhāsa-kṣetra, though this verse focuses on acknowledging Śiva’s instruction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a devotional acknowledgment within the teaching dialogue.