Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

स्वाती विशाखा मैत्रं च यत्र ऋक्षत्रयं स्मृतम् । तस्मिन्स्थाने सदा स्थेयं यावन्मन्वन्तरावधि

Transliteration

svātī viśākhā maitraṃ ca yatra ṛkṣatrayaṃ smṛtam | tasminsthāne sadā stheyaṃ yāvanmanvantarāvadhi

Translation

സ്വാതി, വിശാഖ, മൈത്രം—ഈ മൂന്നു നക്ഷത്രങ്ങൾ സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നിടത്ത്, ആ സ്ഥലത്തുതന്നെ നീ എപ്പോഴും നിലകൊള്ളുക; മന്വന്തരാവധി വരെ.

Word by Word

• स्वाती: Svātī (nakṣatra)
• स्वाती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वाती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नक्षत्रनाम

• विशाखा: Viśākhā (nakṣatra)
• विशाखा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशाखा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नक्षत्रनाम

• मैत्रम्: Maitra (nakṣatra)
• मैत्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मैत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नक्षत्रनाम (अनुराधा)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक/देशवाचक (relative locative adverb)

• ऋक्षत्रयम्: the three constellations
• ऋक्षत्रयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (त्रीणि ऋक्षाणि)

• स्मृतम्: is mentioned
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्मृ (स्मरणे)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि—‘is said/remembered’

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरणे), एकवचन

• स्थाने: place
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरणे), एकवचन

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of time)

• स्थेयम्: one should remain
• स्थेयम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्थेय (कृदन्त; √स्था + यत्)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्ययान्त (यत्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विध्यर्थे—‘should be stayed/should remain’

• यावत्: until; as long as
• यावत्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधिबोधक (until/as long as)

• मन्वन्तरावधि: up to the end of a manvantara
• मन्वन्तरावधि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्वन्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + अवधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (अवधि-पर्यन्त), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मन्वन्तरस्य अवधि)

Speaker

Śiva (assigning a long-term abode)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Above the Prabhāsa landscape, three nakṣatra emblems shine—Svātī, Viśākhā, Maitra—forming a triad; beneath, a figure is instructed to remain there until the end of the manvantara, suggesting immense cosmic duration.

Characters & Entities

• Svātī
• Viśākhā
• Maitra
• Manvantara
• Prabhāsa (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are anchored in cosmic rhythms; dharma links geography (kṣetra) with time (nakṣatra, manvantara).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, identified through nakṣatra markers as the ordained dwelling-place.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it gives a cosmological locator rather than a rite.