Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

तद्वदग्रे च माहात्म्यं तामसेषु शिवस्य हि । संकीर्णे च सरस्वत्याः पितॄणां च निगद्यते

Transliteration

tadvadagre ca māhātmyaṃ tāmaseṣu śivasya hi | saṃkīrṇe ca sarasvatyāḥ pitṝṇāṃ ca nigadyate

Translation

അതുപോലെ താമസ കല്പങ്ങളിൽ ശിവന്റെ മഹാത്മ്യമാണ് അഗ്രം; സംകീർണ്ണ കല്പത്തിൽ സരസ്വതിയുടെയും പിതൃകളുടെയും മഹിമയും പ്രസ്താവിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു।

Word by Word

• तद्वत्: likewise
• तद्वत्: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्वत् (अव्यय/तद्धित)
• Form: उपमानार्थक-अव्यय (adverb: likewise)

• अग्रे: next, further
• अग्रे: Adhikarana (Adverbial location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचन-रूपेण अव्ययीभूत (locative used adverbially: ‘in front/next/thereafter’)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• माहात्म्यम्: glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• तामसेषु: in tāmasa (dark)
• तामसेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तामस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• शिवस्य: of Śiva
• शिवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-निपात (particle: indeed)

• संकीर्णे: in the mixed (type)
• संकीर्णे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संकीर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; (सन्दर्भे ‘संकीर्णे (काले/कल्पे)’ इति अधिकरणम्)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• सरस्वत्याः: of Sarasvatī
• सरस्वत्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• पितॄणाम्: of the Pitṛs (ancestors)
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• निगद्यते: is stated, is said
• निगद्यते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + गद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fourfold tableau: Śiva’s austere radiance, Sarasvatī with vīṇā and manuscripts, and Pitṛs receiving tarpaṇa at a tīrtha; sages explain the saṃkīrṇa kalpa.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Sarasvatī
• Pitṛs
• tamas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It explains that Purāṇic focus can vary—some emphasize Śiva, others ancestral rites or Sarasvatī—according to the guṇa-framework.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; this is thematic classification within Prabhāsa Kṣetra’s broader instructional narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Only indirectly by mentioning Pitṛs (ancestral focus), but no specific śrāddha or rite is detailed in this verse.