Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

स्मृतमात्रा तत्र भित्त्वा पातालतलमुद्ययौ । सा नदीरूपिणी देवी तीर्थकोटिसमन्विता

Transliteration

smṛtamātrā tatra bhittvā pātālatalamudyayau | sā nadīrūpiṇī devī tīrthakoṭisamanvitā

Translation

സ്മരണ മാത്രത്താൽ തന്നെ ആ ദേവി അവിടെ പാതാളതലം ഭേദിച്ച് മേലേക്ക് ഉദിച്ചു. നദിരൂപിണിയായ ആ ദേവി കോടി തീർത്ഥങ്ങളാൽ സമന്വിതയായി പ്രത്യക്ഷയായി.

Word by Word

• स्मृत-मात्रा: (she) being merely remembered / upon remembrance
• स्मृत-मात्रा: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्मृत (कृदन्त, क्त/PPP; √स्मृ) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; तत्पुरुष: स्मृता-मात्रा = ‘merely remembered’ (i.e., on being remembered)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• भित्त्वा: having pierced
• भित्त्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भिद् (धातु) → भित्त्वा (क्त्वान्त अव्यय/gerund)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) — ‘having split/pierced’

• पाताल-तलम्: the netherworld level
• पाताल-तलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: पातालस्य तलम् — ‘the floor/level of the netherworld’

• उद्ययौ: rose up
• उद्ययौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-या (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद — ‘rose up/went up’

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular (demonstrative pronoun)

• नदी-रूपिणी: river-formed
• नदी-रूपिणी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक) + रूपिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; तत्पुरुष: नदीरूपा (having the form of a river)

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• तीर्थ-कोटि-समन्विता: endowed with a crore of sacred fords
• तीर्थ-कोटि-समन्विता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + समन्वित (कृदन्त, क्त/PPP; √अन्वि/अन्वि-सम्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; तत्पुरुष: तीर्थकोट्या समन्विता — ‘endowed with a crore of tīrthas’

Speaker

Narrative voice (continuation of Sūrya’s account within the dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Koṭitīrtha (contextual) / Prabhāsa-tīrtha complex

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard Sūta frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: From the netherworld’s strata a radiant river-goddess bursts upward, splitting the earth; around her shimmer innumerable tīrtha-emblems like lotuses, conches, and miniature ghāṭas, suggesting ‘a crore of tīrthas’ contained in one stream.

Characters & Entities

• Yamunā (river-goddess implied)
• Pātāla
• Tīrtha-koṭi
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine forces respond to remembrance and invocation; sacred waters embody concentrated tīrtha-power for purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where a river-goddess manifestation is described as carrying tīrtha-koṭi potency.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly supports smaraṇa (remembrance) and tīrtha-related acts like river contact/bathing, though bathing is not explicitly stated.