Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 201

Devanagari script

इत्येतत्कथितं देवि माहात्म्यं सूर्यदैवतम् । अर्कस्थलप्रसंगेन किमन्यच्छ्रोतुमिच्छसि

Transliteration

ityetatkathitaṃ devi māhātmyaṃ sūryadaivatam | arkasthalaprasaṃgena kimanyacchrotumicchasi

Translation

ഹേ ദേവി, അർക്കസ്ഥലപ്രസംഗത്തോടുകൂടെ സൂര്യദേവന്റെ മഹാത്മ്യം ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞു. ഇനി നീ മറ്റെന്താണ് കേൾക്കാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നത്?

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; संकेतार्थक सर्वनाम

• kathitam: has been narrated
• kathitam: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathita (कृदन्त; √kath (कथ्) क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) — 'has been told'

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• māhātmyam: greatness, sacred account
• māhātmyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• sūrya-daivatam: having the Sun as the presiding deity
• sūrya-daivatam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sūrya (प्रातिपदिक) + daivata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'सूर्यस्य दैवतम्' (having the Sun as deity)

• arka-sthala-prasaṅgena: by/through the occasion of Arka-sthala
• arka-sthala-prasaṅgena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arka (प्रातिपदिक) + sthala (प्रातिपदिक) + prasaṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'अर्कस्थलस्य प्रसङ्गः'

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• anyat: other
• anyat: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• śrotum: to hear
• śrotum: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/infinitival complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śrotum (कृदन्त; √śru (श्रु) तुमुन्)
• Form: तुमुनन्त (infinitive), श्रवणार्थक

• icchasi: do you wish
• icchasi: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √iṣ (इष्)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice) addressing Devī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arkasthala (Sūrya-sthala) within Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śaṅkara concludes the Arkasthala Sun-mahātmyam, addressing Devī; Devī poised to ask the next question, with Prabhāsa’s coastal sacred landscape suggested in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Sūrya
• Arkasthala
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The māhātmya is framed as a complete sacred teaching, inviting further inquiry in a reverent dialogue.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Arkasthala in Prabhāsakṣetra, explicitly named as the context for praising Sūrya’s greatness.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it serves as a closing transition, indicating the completion of the Arkasthala-linked Sūrya māhātmya.