Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

तं दृष्ट्वा राक्षसे न्द्राय तत्सर्वं विस्तरात्प्रिये । प्रहस्तः कथयामास यद्दृष्टं क्षेत्रमध्यतः

Transliteration

taṃ dṛṣṭvā rākṣase ndrāya tatsarvaṃ vistarātpriye | prahastaḥ kathayāmāsa yaddṛṣṭaṃ kṣetramadhyataḥ

Translation

അത് കണ്ട ശേഷം, ഹേ പ്രിയേ, പ്രഹസ്തൻ രാക്ഷസേന്ദ്രനോട് വിശദമായി എല്ലാം പറഞ്ഞു—പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രത്തിന്റെ മദ്ധ്യത്തിൽ അവൻ കണ്ടതെല്ലാം.

Word by Word

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गः, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचनम्

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund)

• rākṣasa-indrāya: to the lord of the rākṣasas
• rākṣasa-indrāya: Sampradāna (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘राक्षसानाम् इन्द्रः’); पुल्लिङ्गः, चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), एकवचनम्

• tat: that
• tat: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (sarvam इति विशेषणम्)

• sarvam: everything
• sarvam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचनम्

• vistarāt: in detail
• vistarāt: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb: ‘विस्तरेण/विस्तरात्’ = in detail)

• priye: O dear one
• priye: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचनम्

• prahastaḥ: Prahasta
• prahastaḥ: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prahasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचनम्

• kathayāmāsa: told / narrated
• kathayāmāsa: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative/denominative sense: ‘to narrate’)

• yat: what
• yat: Karma (Object of narration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (सम्बन्धबोधक: ‘यत्…तत्…’)

• dṛṣṭam: seen
• dṛṣṭam: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• kṣetra-madhyataḥ: from the midst of the sacred area
• kṣetra-madhyataḥ: Apādāna (Source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषाधारित तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (‘क्षेत्रस्य मध्यात्’); पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्यय (from the middle)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (kṣetra-madhya)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rākṣaseśa (lord of rākṣasas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Prahasta, still awed, stands before the rākṣasa-lord and narrates in detail the vision seen within Prabhāsa’s sacred center; the background hints at the glowing kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Prahasta
• Rāvaṇa (rākṣasendra)
• Kṣetra (Prabhāsa)
• Someśvara (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Encountering a tīrtha leads to testimony and transmission—sacred experience becomes teaching for others.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, referred to as the kṣetra whose center reveals divine wonders.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it introduces Prahasta’s detailed report.