Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

कृतस्मरान्महादेवि यावन्मंकीश्वरः स्थितः । महास्मशानं तद्देवि अपुनर्भवदायकम्

Transliteration

kṛtasmarānmahādevi yāvanmaṃkīśvaraḥ sthitaḥ | mahāsmaśānaṃ taddevi apunarbhavadāyakam

Translation

ഹേ മഹാദേവീ! കൃതസ്മരനിൽ നിന്ന് മങ്കീശ്വരൻ നിലകൊള്ളുന്നിടംവരെ ഉള്ള ആ മഹാശ്മശാനം, ഹേ ദേവീ, അപുനർഭവം (പുനർജന്മനിവൃത്തി) നൽകുന്നതാണ്.

Word by Word

• कृतस्मरात्: from Kṛtasmar(a) (place/person named)
• कृतस्मरात्: अपादान (Ablative/Apādāna)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृतस्मर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (कृतः स्मरो येन/यस्मिन्), पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; अपादान/हेतु (from/than)

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महा + देवी), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• यावत्: as long as / until
• यावत्: कालाधिकरण (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/सम्बन्ध-शब्द)
• Form: अव्यय, परिमाण/अवधि-बोधक (until/as long as)

• मंकीश्वरः: Maṃkīśvara (a form/name of Śiva)
• मंकीश्वरः: कर्ता (Subject/Kartā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मंकीश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (मंकी + ईश्वरः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता

• स्थितः: abides / stands
• स्थितः: क्रिया (Predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past participle: "stood/abiding"), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• महास्मशानम्: the great cremation-ground
• महास्मशानम्: कर्म/विधेय (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + स्मशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महत् स्मशानम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र विधेय (predicate/subject complement)

• तत्: that
• तत्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देशक (that)

• देवि: O goddess
• देवि: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• अपुनर्भवदायकम्: granting non-rebirth (liberation)
• अपुनर्भवदायकम्: विशेषण (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ (नञ्) + पुनर्भव (प्रातिपदिक) + दायक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (अपुनर्भवस्य दायकम्; नञ्-पूर्वपद), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; महास्मशानस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahā-smāśāna stretch (Kṛtasmara–Maṃkīśvara)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A mapped sacred corridor: Śiva indicates the span from Kṛtasmara to Maṃkīśvara; the cremation-ground appears as a vast, quiet expanse with ash-grey earth, sacred trees, and small shrines/lingas marking nodes; an ethereal glow suggests ‘apunarbhava’.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛtasmara
• Maṃkīśvara
• Mahāśmaśāna
• Apunarbhava (no rebirth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa defines a liberating sacred zone, teaching that specific geographies are charged with mokṣa-giving power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Mahāśmaśāna stretch from Kṛtasmara to Maṃkīśvara in Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it delineates the area and its mokṣa-granting fruit.