Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नंतरे देवि भारतं क्षेत्रमुत्तमम् । कृतं त्रेता द्वापरं च तिष्यं युगचतुष्टयम्

Transliteration

etasminnaṃtare devi bhārataṃ kṣetramuttamam | kṛtaṃ tretā dvāparaṃ ca tiṣyaṃ yugacatuṣṭayam

Translation

ഹേ ദേവി, ഈ പരിധിക്കുള്ളിൽ ഭാരതം തന്നെയാണ് ഉത്തമക്ഷേത്രം. ഇവിടെ തന്നെയാണ് കൃതം, ത്രേതാ, ദ്വാപരം, തിഷ്യ (കലി) എന്നിങ്ങനെ നാലു യുഗങ്ങൾ ഗണിക്കപ്പെടുന്നത്.

Word by Word

• etasmin: in this
• etasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/napuṃsakaliṅga, Saptamī vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana (Singular); sarvanāma (pronoun)

• antare: in the interval/within
• antare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Saptamī vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana (Singular)

• devi: O Goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Sambodhana vibhakti (Vocative), Ekavacana (Singular)

• bhāratam: Bhārata (India)
• bhāratam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (Singular)

• kṣetram: region/field
• kṣetram: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (Singular); apposition to bhāratam

• uttamam: excellent/supreme
• uttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of kṣetram/bhāratam

• kṛtam: Kṛta (age)
• kṛtam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Bhūta-kṛdanta (past passive participle), Napumsakaliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; here naming ‘Kṛta (yuga)’

• tretā: Tretā (age)
• tretā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tretā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (Singular); yuga-name

• dvāparam: Dvāpara (age)
• dvāparam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvāpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; yuga-name

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-avyaya (conjunction)

• tiṣyam: Tiṣya (Kali age)
• tiṣyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tiṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; yuga-name (Kali)

• yuga-catuṣṭayam: the set of four yugas
• yuga-catuṣṭayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuga (प्रातिपदिक) + catuṣṭaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa ‘of yugas’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhārata-kṣetra (as sacred field)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Īśvara declares Bhārata the best kṣetra and enumerates the four yugas; a symbolic wheel of time (yuga-cakra) appears behind the landscape of Bhārata, indicating cyclical ages.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata
• Kṛta-yuga
• Tretā-yuga
• Dvāpara-yuga
• Tiṣya (Kali)
• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bhārata is upheld as the prime arena where yuga-dharma unfolds and where spiritual striving has decisive karmic consequence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse praises Bhārata as a whole; in the chapter’s frame, this elevates the importance of tīrthas within Bhārata such as Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is doctrinal/cosmological (yuga classification).