Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

प्रतिष्ठितं दशास्येन सर्वपातकनाशनम् । पौलस्त्यो रावणो देवि राक्षसस्तु सुदारुणः

Transliteration

pratiṣṭhitaṃ daśāsyena sarvapātakanāśanam | paulastyo rāvaṇo devi rākṣasastu sudāruṇaḥ

Translation

ഹേ ദേവീ, ആ പ്രതിഷ്ഠ ദശാസ്യൻ (രാവണൻ) സർവ്വപാപനാശിനിയായി സ്ഥാപിച്ചതാണ്. പൗലസ്ത്യവംശജനായ രാവണൻ സത്യത്തിൽ അത്യന്തം ഉഗ്രനും ഭയങ്കരനും ആയ രാക്ഷസനായിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• प्रतिष्ठितम्: established
• प्रतिष्ठितम्: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति + स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — ‘established’; agrees with implied ‘लिङ्गम्/देवालयम्’

• दशास्येन: by the ten-faced one (Rāvaṇa)
• दशास्येन: Karana/Karta (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दशास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — Instrumental singular; bahuvrīhi ‘one having ten faces’ (Rāvaṇa)

• सर्व-पातक-नाशनम्: destroyer of all sins
• सर्व-पातक-नाशनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + पातक (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — ‘destroyer of all sins’; agrees with the established object

• पौलस्त्यः: the descendant of Pulastya
• पौलस्त्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पौलस्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• रावणः: Rāvaṇa
• रावणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रावण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular (apposition to ‘पौलस्त्यः’)

• देवि: O goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — Vocative singular

• राक्षसः: a demon
• राक्षसः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — adversative/emphatic particle

• सुदारुणः: very fierce
• सुदारुणः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + दारुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; agrees with ‘राक्षसः’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rāvaṇeśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rāvaṇa (Daśāsya), fierce yet devout, installs a Śiva-liṅga at Prabhāsa; the liṅga radiates purifying light while attendants and sages witness the paradox of a terrible rākṣasa performing a sanctifying act.

Characters & Entities

• Daśāsya (Rāvaṇa)
• Pulastya
• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even figures known for adharma appear within narratives that highlight the extraordinary sin-destroying potency of a sacred act or sacred place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra (Prabhāsa), introduced in this section as a supremely purifying sacred region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; it alludes to an establishment/installation (pratiṣṭhā) connected with sin-destruction.