Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

अथ देवि प्रवक्ष्यामि प्रतिपत्प्रभृति क्रमात् । यथोत्सवो नरैः कार्यः प्रेरणीप्रेक्षणीयकैः

Transliteration

atha devi pravakṣyāmi pratipatprabhṛti kramāt | yathotsavo naraiḥ kāryaḥ preraṇīprekṣaṇīyakaiḥ

Translation

ഇപ്പോൾ, ഹേ ദേവി, പ്രതിപദ മുതൽ ക്രമമായി ഞാൻ വിശദീകരിക്കുന്നു—ജനങ്ങൾ ഉത്സവം എങ്ങനെ നടത്തണം, സംഘാടകരും നിയുക്ത നിരീക്ഷകരും മേൽനോട്ടം വഹിച്ച് അത് എങ്ങനെ നിർവഹിക്കണം എന്ന്.

Word by Word

• atha: now; then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भ/अनन्तरार्थक — indeclinable ‘now/then’

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन — vocative singular

• pravakṣyāmi: I will explain
• pravakṣyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√vac वच् (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘I shall explain/tell’

• pratipat-prabhṛti: starting from pratipat (the first day)
• pratipat-prabhṛti: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pratipat (प्रातिपदिक) + prabhṛti (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; ‘प्रतिपद्-प्रभृति’ = ‘from the first lunar day onward’; अव्ययवत् प्रयोग

• kramāt: in order; sequentially
• kramāt: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अव्ययवत् ‘क्रमात्’ = ‘क्रमेण’ — ablative singular used adverbially

• yathā: as; how
• yathā: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/उपमानार्थक — ‘as/how’

• utsavaḥ: festival
• utsavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: utsava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — masculine nominative singular

• naraiḥ: by men
• naraiḥ: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• kāryaḥ: to be done; should be performed
• kāryaḥ: Vidhi (Obligation/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kārya (कृदन्त; √kṛ कृ धातु, यत्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण — gerundive (to be done), masculine nominative singular agreeing with utsavaḥ

• preraṇī-prekṣaṇīyakaiḥ: with (people) to be directed and supervised
• preraṇī-prekṣaṇīyakaiḥ: Karana (Means/Assistants/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: preraṇīya (कृदन्त; √prer प्रेर्/√īr ईर्, अनीयर्) + prekṣaṇīya (कृदन्त; √prekṣ प्रेक्ष्, अनीयर्)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व—‘प्रेरणीयकैः च प्रेक्षणीयकैः च’ (those to be prompted and those to be watched/inspected); पुंलिङ्ग instrumental plural (collective)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced, addressing Devī in a Māhātmya-style instruction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A festival planning scene: elders and priests marking lunar days on palm-leaf/board, assigning roles to organizers and appointed spectators, with the Prabhāsa shrine in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred celebration should be performed with order, discipline, and responsible oversight, turning communal joy into dharmic worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsatīrtha region) as presented in the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A step-by-step festival observance beginning from Pratipat, conducted with designated organizers and overseers.