Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि लिंगं वैवस्वतेश्वरम् । देव्या दक्षिणदिग्भागे धनुस्त्रिंशकसंस्थितम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi liṃgaṃ vaivasvateśvaram | devyā dakṣiṇadigbhāge dhanustriṃśakasaṃsthitam

Translation

ഈശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ഹേ മഹാദേവി! തുടർന്ന് വൈവസ്വതേശ്വരം എന്ന ലിംഗത്തിലേക്ക് പോകണം; ദേവിയുടെ സ്ഥാനത്തിന്റെ തെക്കുഭാഗത്ത്, മുപ്പത് ധനുസ്സുകളുടെ അകലത്തിൽ അത് സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നു।

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; वक्ता

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

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla/Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Temporal/Locative adjunct)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रयोगः (then/thereafter)

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

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक; महा + देवी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; संबोधन

• liṅgam: liṅga (Śiva emblem)
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• vaivasvateśvaram: Vaivasvateśvara
• vaivasvateśvaram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaivasvata-īśvara (प्रातिपदिक; वैवस्वत + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (liṅgaṃ)

• devyāḥ: of the goddess
• devyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• dakṣiṇadigbhāge: in the southern side/quarter
• dakṣiṇadigbhāge: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇā-diś-bhāga (प्रातिपदिक; दक्षिणा + दिश् + भाग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• dhanustriṃśakasaṃsthitam: situated at a distance of thirty bows
• dhanustriṃśakasaṃsthitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhanus-triṃśaka-saṃsthita (प्रातिपदिक; धनुस् + त्रिंशक + संस्थित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (liṅgaṃ)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vaivasvateśvara

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (the Goddess)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Īśvara instructs the Great Goddess about the next stop in the Prabhāsa circuit: the Vaivasvateśvara liṅga, located south of the Devī’s quarter, thirty bow-lengths away; the scene can show a sacred map-like procession between shrines.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Vaivasvateśvara
• Liṅga
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is presented as a guided movement through sacred space, where direction and proximity become part of devotional practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Vaivasvateśvara liṅga within Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pilgrimage instruction: proceed to Vaivasvateśvara, identified by its southern location and measured distance.