Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

पुष्पं देवपुरे चैव केशवार्कं तु लोहिते । वैदिशे चैव शार्दूलं शोणे वारुणवासिनम्

Transliteration

puṣpaṃ devapure caiva keśavārkaṃ tu lohite | vaidiśe caiva śārdūlaṃ śoṇe vāruṇavāsinam

Translation

ദേവപുരത്തിൽ അദ്ദേഹം ‘പുഷ്പ’യായി സ്തുത്യൻ, ലോഹിതയിൽ ‘കേശവാർക’; വൈദിശയിൽ ‘ശാർദൂല’, ശോണയിൽ ‘വാരുണവാസിൻ’।

Word by Word

• पुष्पम्: Puṣpa (name/epithet)
• पुष्पम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Singular)

• देवपुरे: in Devapura
• देवपुरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवपुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular); समासः देव + पुर (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘of gods’ + ‘city’)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• केशवार्कम्: Keśavārka (name/epithet)
• केशवार्कम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केशव + अर्क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Nom./Acc., Sg.); समासः केशवस्य अर्कः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• तु: but/and then
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वयार्थक-निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• लोहिते: in Lohita (place)
• लोहिते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोहित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular)

• वैदिशे: in Vaidiśa
• वैदिशे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैदिश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• शार्दूलम्: Śārdūla (name/epithet)
• शार्दूलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शार्दूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Nom./Acc., Sg.)

• शोणे: in Śoṇa (place)
• शोणे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular)

• वारुणवासिनम्: Vāruṇavāsin (dweller in Vāruṇa-place)
• वारुणवासिनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारुण + वासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masc., Nom./Acc., Sg.); समासः वारुणे वासी (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Devapura / Lohita / Vaidiśa / Śoṇa-tīra (Sūrya-sthānas)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Four panels: Devapura with garlands and blooming lotuses for ‘Puṣpa’; Lohita with a reddish dawn and a Sūrya icon bearing a Viṣṇu-like crown for ‘Keśavārka’; Vaidiśa with a tiger emblem beside the solar disc for ‘Śārdūla’; Śoṇa riverbank with Varuṇa-water motifs—waves, makara—around ‘Vāruṇavāsin’.

Characters & Entities

• Devapura
• Puṣpa
• Lohita
• Keśavārka
• Vaidiśa
• Śārdūla
• Śoṇa
• Vāruṇavāsin

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places and rivers hold living memory of divine presence through localized names and worship-forms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Devapura, Lohita, Vaidiśa, and the Śoṇa region are presented as seats of Sūrya’s distinct epithets.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated; the verse functions as a māhātmya-style catalogue of sacred appellations.