Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 60

Devanagari script

अस्माकं वंशजो देवं प्रस्थितस्तारणाय नः । गत्वा सोमेश्वरं देवि कुर्याद्वपनमादितः

Transliteration

asmākaṃ vaṃśajo devaṃ prasthitastāraṇāya naḥ | gatvā someśvaraṃ devi kuryādvapanamāditaḥ

Translation

‘ഞങ്ങളുടെ വംശജനായ ഇവൻ ഞങ്ങളെ തരണത്തിനായി ദേവന്റെ അടുക്കൽ പുറപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു.’ ഹേ ദേവീ! സോമേശ്വരനിൽ എത്തി അവൻ ആദ്യം വപനം (മുണ്ഡനം) ചെയ്യണം।

Word by Word

• asmākam: of us, our
• asmākam: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (genitive), बहुवचन; pronoun

• vaṃśajaḥ: descendant
• vaṃśajaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṃśaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• devam: the god (Lord)
• devam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• prasthitaḥ: set out, departed
• prasthitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-sthā (धातु) → prasthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) used predicatively; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; agreeing with 'vaṃśajaḥ'

• tāraṇāya: for deliverance, for saving
• tāraṇāya: Sampradāna (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (usage), चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (dative/purpose), एकवचन

• naḥ: of us, for us
• naḥ: Sambandha (Beneficiary/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचन/बहुवचन रूप (enclitic); here sense: ‘of us/for us’ (context: deliverance of us)

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund); ‘having gone’

• someśvaram: Someśvara (a form of Śiva)
• someśvaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: someśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kuryāt: should perform
• kuryāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; injunctive sense ‘should do’

• vapanam: shaving (tonsure)
• vapanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vapana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• āditaḥ: first, at the outset
• āditaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; adverb (क्रमवाचक) ‘from the beginning/first’

Speaker

Unspecified (within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya narration; addressing 'devi')

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Someśvara (Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as ‘O Goddess’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim, having reached Prabhāsa, undergoes tonsure as the first rite; nearby, subtle ancestral figures appear relieved; then the pilgrim proceeds toward Someśvara’s shrine with offerings.

Characters & Entities

• Someśvara
• Pitṛs/ancestors (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A Prabhāsa pilgrimage is framed as a redemptive act for one’s lineage, begun with bodily discipline and ritual purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Someśvara (Śiva) in Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Vapana (tonsure/shaving) as the first prescribed act upon reaching Someśvara.