Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि ऋषीणामूर्ध्वरेतसाम् । ब्रह्मकुण्डं समाश्रित्य ब्रह्मदेवमुपासते

Transliteration

aṣṭāśītisahasrāṇi ṛṣīṇāmūrdhvaretasām | brahmakuṇḍaṃ samāśritya brahmadevamupāsate

Translation

ബ്രഹ്മചര്യനിഷ്ഠരായ (ഊർദ്ധ്വരേതസ്സായ) എൺപത്തിയെട്ടായിരം ഋഷികൾ ബ്രഹ്മകുണ്ഡത്തെ ആശ്രയിച്ച് ദേവാധിദേവനായ ബ്രഹ്മദേവനെ ഉപാസിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि: eighty thousand
• अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टाशीति-सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक (as subject: eighty-thousand)

• ऋषीणाम्: of sages
• ऋषीणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• ऊर्ध्वरेतसाम्: of those with upward-retained semen (celibate)
• ऊर्ध्वरेतसाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्ध्व-रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; ऋषीणाम् विशेषणम् (describing the sages)

• ब्रह्मकुण्डम्: Brahma-kuṇḍa
• ब्रह्मकुण्डम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म-कुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म (object of approaching)

• समाश्रित्य: having resorted to
• समाश्रित्य: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-श्रि (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकाले कृत्य (having resorted to)

• ब्रह्मदेवम्: Brahmā (the god Brahma)
• ब्रह्मदेवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म-देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म (object of worship)

• उपासते: worship
• उपासते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-आस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Unknown (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahmakuṇḍa

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast assembly of ascetic sages, radiant and austere, seated around a sacred stepped pond (kuṇḍa) under coastal light; at the center a serene four-faced Brahmā is worshipped with water-offerings and Vedic chant.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmakuṇḍa
• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha gains authority through the presence and worship of realized sages; ascetic discipline and devotion sanctify sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Brahmakuṇḍa, portrayed as a resort of great ṛṣis in Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upāsanā (worship/attentive devotion) of Brahmā at Brahmakuṇḍa.