Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

स्मृतं तद्वैष्णवं क्षेत्रं नाम्ना देवि सुदर्शनम् । धन्वंतराणि षट्त्रिंशत्समंतात्परिमण्डलम्

Transliteration

smṛtaṃ tadvaiṣṇavaṃ kṣetraṃ nāmnā devi sudarśanam | dhanvaṃtarāṇi ṣaṭtriṃśatsamaṃtātparimaṇḍalam

Translation

ഹേ ദേവി, ആ പുണ്യപ്രദേശം ‘സുദർശനം’ എന്ന നാമത്തിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധമായ വൈഷ്ണവക്ഷേത്രമായി സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു. അത് എല്ലാ ദിക്കുകളിലും മുപ്പത്താറ് ധന്വന്തര വരെ വൃത്താകാരമായി വ്യാപിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• स्मृतम्: is called/remembered as
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Result state/क्रिया-फल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; निर्देशक (demonstrative)

• वैष्णवम्: Vaishnava (of Vishnu)
• वैष्णवम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैष्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (क्षेत्रस्य)

• क्षेत्रम्: sacred field/place
• क्षेत्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नाम्ना: by name
• नाम्ना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• देवि: O goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सुदर्शनम्: Sudarshana
• सुदर्शनम्: Samjna (Name/संज्ञा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु + दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—सुन्दरं दर्शनं यस्य/यत् इति कर्मधारयः; नाम (proper name)

• धन्वन्तराणि: dhanvantaras (a unit of distance)
• धन्वन्तराणि: Parimana (Measure/परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन्वन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; परिमाणवाचक (measure)

• षट्त्रिंशत्: thirty-six
• षट्त्रिंशत्: Visheshana (Numeral qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट्त्रिंशत् (संख्यावाचक-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; (indeclinable-like numeral) परिमाणविशेषणम् (धन्वन्तराणि)

• समन्तात्: on all sides
• समन्तात्: Desha-visheshana (Spatial modifier/देशविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्तात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादानार्थक/देशवाचक (from all sides / all around)

• परिमण्डलम्: circular/encircled
• परिमण्डलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि + मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (क्षेत्रस्य)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sudarśana-kṣetra (Vaiṣṇava-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred circular mandala-map of Sudarśana-kṣetra is evoked, radiating from the center across a measured expanse; the idea of a protective divine disc overlays the landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Viṣṇu
• Sudarśana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A holy kṣetra is not merely a point on a map; it is a divinely charged sacred region whose very name and extent are preserved in tradition for pilgrimage and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Vaiṣṇava sacred region called “Sudarśana” within the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya (Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse defines the sanctity and geographic extent of the kṣetra.