Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अथासौ ब्राह्मणो देवि यावत्सीमामुपागतः । तावद्विष्णुप्रियं तत्र ददृशे वैष्णवं वनम्

Transliteration

athāsau brāhmaṇo devi yāvatsīmāmupāgataḥ | tāvadviṣṇupriyaṃ tatra dadṛśe vaiṣṇavaṃ vanam

Translation

അപ്പോൾ, ഹേ ദേവീ, ആ ബ്രാഹ്മണൻ അതിരിലെത്തിയ ഉടൻ അവിടെ വിഷ്ണുവിന് പ്രിയമായ വൈഷ്ണവ വനത്തെ ദർശിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• अथ: then, thereafter
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रमसूचक/आरम्भार्थक (particle/adverb: then/now)

• असौ: that (man), he
• असौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; deictic pronoun

• ब्राह्मणः: the Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• देवि: O goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• यावत्: as far as, until
• यावत्: Sambandha (Correlative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय/सम्बन्धाव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-सूचक (correlative: as far as/until)

• सीमाम्: the boundary, limit
• सीमाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सीमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• उपागतः: arrived, came near
• उपागतः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोग; ‘having come/arrived’

• तावत्: then, at that time
• तावत्: Sambandha (Correlative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय/सम्बन्धाव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तावत्-यावत् सहसम्बन्ध (correlative: then/so long)

• विष्णुप्रियम्: dear to Viṣṇu
• विष्णुप्रियम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विष्णु + प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक); समास
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण; (विष्णोः प्रियम्)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• ददृशे: he saw
• ददृशे: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• वैष्णवम्: Vaiṣṇava, pertaining to Viṣṇu
• वैष्णवम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैष्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• वनम्: forest
• वनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (continuing the account in response to Devī’s query)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vaiṣṇava-vana at Prabhāsa boundary (unnamed here)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śrī Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gautama reaches the kṣetra boundary; before him opens a lush forest with Vaiṣṇava signs—tulasī groves, śālagrāma-like stones, a small Viṣṇu shrine—bathed in tranquil light.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Devī
• Viṣṇu
• Vaiṣṇava vana
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sacred landscape reveals itself progressively; crossing into a holy kṣetra is marked by encounters with sanctified groves and signs of divine presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Vaiṣṇava vana (forest sanctum) within the boundary of Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse sets the scene for a tīrtha-related narrative.