Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि तस्य दक्षिणतः स्थितम् । ईशाने लक्ष्मणेशाच्च धनुषां षोडशे प्रिये

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi tasya dakṣiṇataḥ sthitam | īśāne lakṣmaṇeśācca dhanuṣāṃ ṣoḍaśe priye

Translation

ഈശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—മഹാദേവീ! തുടർന്ന് അതിന്റെ തെക്കുഭാഗത്ത് സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്ന ആ സ്ഥാനത്തേക്ക് പോകണം. പ്രിയേ! അത് ഈശാന (വടക്ക്-കിഴക്ക്) ദിശയിൽ ലക്ഷ്മണേശനിൽ നിന്ന് പതിനാറു ധനുസ്സ് ദൂരത്തിലാണ്.

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Lord Śiva)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन (Masculine; Nominative; Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद (3rd person; Singular; Parasmaipada)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः—अव्यय-सम्बन्ध/क्रम (indeclinable adverb of sequence)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद (3rd person; Singular; Parasmaipada)

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन विभक्ति; एकवचन (Feminine; Vocative; Singular)

• tasya: of it/that (place)
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक; षष्ठी विभक्ति; एकवचन (Genitive; Singular)

• dakṣiṇataḥ: to the south (of)
• dakṣiṇataḥ: Desha-adhikarana (Spatial/देश-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dakṣiṇataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; दिशावाचक-अव्यय (directional adverb)

• sthitam: situated
• sthitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthita (स्था धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन (Neuter; Nom./Acc.; Singular)

• īśāne: in the northeast
• īśāne: Desha-adhikarana (Spatial/देश-अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; एकवचन (Masculine; Locative; Singular); दिशि (in the northeast)

• lakṣmaṇeśāt: from Lakṣmaṇeśa
• lakṣmaṇeśāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣmaṇa-īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी विभक्ति; एकवचन (Masculine; Ablative; Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक निपात (conjunction)

• dhanuṣām: of bows (as a measure)
• dhanuṣām: Sambandha (Measure relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति; बहुवचन (Neuter; Genitive; Plural)

• ṣoḍaśe: at (a distance of) sixteen
• ṣoḍaśe: Desha-adhikarana (Measure-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति; एकवचन (Neuter; Locative; Singular); परिमाणे (in the measure of sixteen)

• priye: O beloved
• priye: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन विभक्ति; एकवचन (Feminine; Vocative; Singular)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Lakṣmaṇeśa (landmark) and the unnamed shrine south of it (next stop in 161.1)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī / Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim map-like scene: Lakṣmaṇeśa shrine as a landmark; a path leading sixteen dhanus to the next shrine to the south; compass-like directional markers (īśāna, dakṣiṇa) overlay the sacred precinct.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Īśvara)
• Devī
• Lakṣmaṇeśa
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The māhātmya treats pilgrimage as a precise sacred itinerary, where direction and measure preserve the lived sacred landscape.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The next shrine in sequence (contextually Ananteśvara), located with reference to Lakṣmaṇeśa within Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A directive to proceed to a specifically located shrine; no detailed ritual beyond the pilgrimage movement is stated.