Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

यत्तदक्षरमव्यक्तं परं यस्मान्न विद्यते । योगगम्यमनाद्यंतं वृषभध्वज संमितम्

Transliteration

yattadakṣaramavyaktaṃ paraṃ yasmānna vidyate | yogagamyamanādyaṃtaṃ vṛṣabhadhvaja saṃmitam

Translation

അക്ഷരവും അവ്യക്തവും ആയ പരമതത്ത്വം—അതിന് അപ്പുറം ഒന്നുമില്ല; യോഗത്തിലൂടെ മാത്രം ഗമ്യവും അനാദി-അനന്തവുമായ അതേ ‘വൃഷഭധ്വജ’ (ശിവൻ) എന്നു ഗ്രഹിക്കണം।

Word by Word

• यत्: that which
• यत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular neuter (relative pronoun)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular neuter (correlative)

• अक्षरम्: the imperishable (Brahman)
• अक्षरम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular neuter

• अव्यक्तम्: unmanifest
• अव्यक्तम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव्यक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular neuter

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular neuter

• यस्मात्: from which
• यस्मात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5/पञ्चमी), एकवचन — Ablative singular neuter (relative)

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निषेध-निपात — Indeclinable negation particle

• विद्यते: is found; exists
• विद्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √विद् (धातु) (विद्-लभ् अर्थे; आत्मनेपद)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद — Present, 3rd person singular, middle; existential 'is found/exists'

• योगगम्यम्: attainable through yoga
• योगगम्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: योग-गम्य (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त; योग + गम्य (√गम् + यत्))
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular neuter; तत्पुरुष: 'योगेन गम्यम्' (attainable by yoga)

• अनाद्यन्तम्: without beginning and end
• अनाद्यन्तम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनादि-अन्त (प्रातिपदिक; अनादि + अन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular neuter; द्वन्द्व (इतरेतर): 'आदिश्च अन्तश्च' with negation (without beginning and end)

• वृषभध्वज: O Bull-bannered one
• वृषभध्वज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषभ-ध्वज (प्रातिपदिक; वृषभ + ध्वज)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन — Vocative singular masculine; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'वृषभः ध्वजः यस्य' (epithet of Śiva)

• संमितम्: measured; delimited; defined
• संमितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संमित (कृदन्त; सम् + √मा (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular neuter; past passive participle ('measured/limited/defined')

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vṛṣadhvajeśvara (as Vṛṣabhadhvaja-tattva)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A doctrinal tableau: the Prabhāsa liṅga/shrine is visually present, while behind it a cosmic, formless radiance suggests the akṣara-avyakta Śiva; Śiva’s bull-banner emblem (vṛṣa-dhvaja) signifies identity.

Characters & Entities

• Vṛṣabhadhvaja
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva (Vṛṣabhadhvaja) is praised as the highest, beginningless, endless, unmanifest imperishable Reality, realizable through yogic insight.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhās), celebrated in the Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse functions as a theological stuti emphasizing yoga as a means of realization.