Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

तत्र नारायणं साक्षाद्बलभद्रं च रुक्मिणीम् । पूजयित्वा विधानेन मुच्यते पातकत्रयात्

Transliteration

tatra nārāyaṇaṃ sākṣādbalabhadraṃ ca rukmiṇīm | pūjayitvā vidhānena mucyate pātakatrayāt

Translation

അവിടെ സാക്ഷാൽ നാരായണനെയും, ബലഭദ്രനെയും, രുക്മിണീദേവിയെയും വിധിപൂർവ്വം പൂജിച്ചാൽ ത്രിവിധ പാപങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് മോചനം ലഭിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there (in that place)
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative setting/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण/adverb of place)

• नारायणम्: Nārāyaṇa
• नारायणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• साक्षात्: directly, in person
• साक्षात्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साक्षात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb; ‘प्रत्यक्षम्/directly’)

• बलभद्रम्: Balabhadra
• बलभद्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलभद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक conjunction)

• रुक्मिणीम्: Rukmiṇī
• रुक्मिणीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुक्मिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• पूजयित्वा: having worshipped
• पूजयित्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘पूजयित्वा’ = पूज् + इत्वा; पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having worshipped)

• विधानेन: by the prescribed rite/method
• विधानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

• मुच्यते: is freed
• मुच्यते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• पातकत्रयात्: from the three sins
• पातकत्रयात्: Apadana (Ablative source/separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातक + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘पातकानां त्रयम्’ = three sins)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced from immediate context; explicit from v.16)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa Nārāyaṇa-sannidhi with Balabhadra and Rukmiṇī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A small sanctum or open-air altar at Prabhāsa: Nārāyaṇa/Kṛṣṇa as central icon, with Balabhadra and Rukmiṇī flanking; a devotee offers flowers, lamp, and water in orderly sequence, signifying ‘vidhānena’ worship; the atmosphere is devotional and purifying.

Characters & Entities

• Nārāyaṇa
• Balabhadra
• Rukmiṇī
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritually correct worship at a sanctified site is presented as a powerful means for purification from grave wrongdoing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, where these Vaiṣṇava deities are to be worshipped.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Vidhi-based pūjā (worship according to injunctions) of Nārāyaṇa, Balabhadra, and Rukmiṇī.