Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 95

Devanagari script

शातकुम्भमये कुम्भे धनुषायुतविस्तृते । तत्र कुंभस्य मध्यस्थो वडवानलसंज्ञितः

Transliteration

śātakumbhamaye kumbhe dhanuṣāyutavistṛte | tatra kuṃbhasya madhyastho vaḍavānalasaṃjñitaḥ

Translation

പതിനായിരം ധനുസ്സിന്റെ വിസ്തൃതിയുള്ള ശാതകുംഭമയ കുംഭത്തിൽ, ആ കുംഭത്തിന്റെ മദ്ധ്യത്തിൽ ‘വഡവാനല’ എന്നു വിളിക്കപ്പെടുന്ന അഗ്നി സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നു.

Word by Word

• शातकुम्भमये: made of gold
• शातकुम्भमये: Adhikarana (Location qualifier/अधिकरण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शातकुम्भ + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (शातकुम्भस्य मयः), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; 'कुम्भे' इत्यस्य विशेषण

• कुम्भे: in the pot/jar
• कुम्भे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुम्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• धनुषायुतविस्तृते: expanded to ten thousand bows (in extent)
• धनुषायुतविस्तृते: Adhikarana (Location qualifier/अधिकरण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धनुस् + आयुत + विस्तृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास (धनुषाम् आयुतेन विस्तृतः), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; 'कुम्भे' इत्यस्य विशेषण

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

• कुम्भस्य: of the pot
• कुम्भस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुम्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• मध्यस्थः: situated in the middle
• मध्यस्थः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मध्य + स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (मध्ये स्थितः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृविशेषण

• वडवानलसंज्ञितः: named ‘Vaḍavānala’
• वडवानलसंज्ञितः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वडवानल + संज्ञित (कृदन्त, क्त; √ज्ञा धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (वडवानल-इति संज्ञा यस्य), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृविशेषण

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Lavaṇodadhi (Prabhāsa sea)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic cross-section of the ocean as a colossal golden kumbha; at its very center burns the Vaḍavānala—depicted as a contained, horse/mare-headed flame or a fiery vortex beneath the waters.

Characters & Entities

• Kumbha (cosmic vessel)
• Vaḍavānala (submarine fire)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic sacred geography links hidden cosmic forces (like Vaḍavānala) to tīrtha-mahātmya, revealing sanctity beneath the visible world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Agni-related sacred zone in the Prabhāsa oceanic landscape (context for Agni-tīrtha).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it sets up the mythic location of Vaḍavānala connected with Agni-tīrtha.