Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

आदिप्रभासात्पुरतो धनुषां त्रितये स्थितम् । रुद्रेण ध्यानमास्थाय स्वं तेजस्तत्र योजितम्

Transliteration

ādiprabhāsātpurato dhanuṣāṃ tritaye sthitam | rudreṇa dhyānamāsthāya svaṃ tejastatra yojitam

Translation

ആദി-പ്രഭാസത്തിന്റെ മുൻവശത്ത് മൂന്നു ധനുസ്സിന്റെ അകലത്തിൽ അത് സ്ഥിതമാണ്; അവിടെ രുദ്രൻ ധ്യാനത്തിൽ ലീനനായി തന്റെ ദിവ്യ തേജസ് സ്ഥാപിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• आदिप्रभासात्: from Ādi-Prabhāsa
• आदिप्रभासात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदि + प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (ablative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: 'प्रभासस्य आदिः' (from Ādi-Prabhāsa)

• पुरतः: in front
• पुरतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/adverb; also used with genitive/ablative sense)

• धनुषाम्: of bows (as a measure)
• धनुषाम्: Sambandha (Measure relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (genitive), बहुवचन

• त्रितये: in a triad; at a distance of three
• त्रितये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रितय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• स्थितम्: situated
• स्थितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (लिङ्ग-समन्वयः: लिङ्गस्य/स्थलस्य)

• रुद्रेण: by Rudra
• रुद्रेण: Karana (Instrument/कर्ता-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (instrumental), एकवचन

• ध्यानम्: meditation
• ध्यानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• आस्थाय: having undertaken
• आस्थाय: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + स्था (धातु) (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त्वान्त/absolutive), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable gerund): 'having undertaken'

• स्वम्: his own
• स्वम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-विशेषणम्: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'own' (qualifies 'तेजः')

• तेजः: splendor; energy
• तेजः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/adverb)

• योजितम्: was placed; was applied
• योजितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युज् (धातु) (णिच् causative: योजयति) (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि: 'was placed/assigned'

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rudreśvara (near Ādi-Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rudra sits in deep meditation near Ādi-Prabhāsa; from his body emanates a concentrated radiance that settles into the earth, marking the future Rudreśvara presence; the distance is symbolically shown by a short procession path.

Characters & Entities

• Ādi-Prabhāsa
• Rudra
• Rudreśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are portrayed as crystallizations of divine meditation and ‘tejas’, making geography itself a vessel of grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rudreśvara near Ādi-Prabhāsa, defined with a traditional distance marker.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse gives a locating measure and a mythic origin (Rudra’s dhyāna).