Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

पार्वत्युवाच । कथय त्वं महेशान सर्वदेवनमस्कृत । तीर्थराजः प्रयागस्तु कथं विष्णुः सनातनः

Transliteration

pārvatyuvāca | kathaya tvaṃ maheśāna sarvadevanamaskṛta | tīrtharājaḥ prayāgastu kathaṃ viṣṇuḥ sanātanaḥ

Translation

പാർവതി അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ഹേ മഹേശാന, സർവ്വദേവന്മാരാൽ നമസ്കൃതനേ, പറയുക—പ്രയാഗം എങ്ങനെ തീർത്ഥരാജൻ? സനാതന വിഷ്ണു (ഇവിടെ) എങ്ങനെ വിരാജിക്കുന്നു?

Word by Word

• pārvatī: Pārvatī
• pārvatī: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd person singular)

• kathaya: tell
• kathaya: Kriyā (Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन (2nd person singular)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Pronoun, Nominative, Singular)

• maheśāna: O Maheśāna (Śiva)
• maheśāna: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular)

• sarva-deva-namaskṛta: saluted by all gods
• sarva-deva-namaskṛta: Sambodhana (Address/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक) + namaskṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; कृ धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular); समासः सर्वदेव + नमस्कृत (तत्पुरुष), क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (one who is saluted by all gods)

• tīrtha-rājaḥ: king of pilgrimage places
• tīrtha-rājaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular); समासः तीर्थस्य राजा (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• prayāgaḥ: Prayāga
• prayāgaḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विरोध/विशेषार्थक निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• katham: how
• katham: Prashna (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रश्नार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (interrogative adverb: how)

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• sanātanaḥ: eternal
• sanātanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sanātana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

Speaker

Pārvatī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gupta-Prayāga in Prabhāsa (topic of inquiry)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Īśvara (Maheśāna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pārvatī, with folded hands, questions Śiva about Prayāga’s supremacy and Viṣṇu’s eternal presence; Śiva sits serene, ready to reveal the hidden theology of the place.

Characters & Entities

• Pārvatī
• Maheśāna (Śiva)
• Prayāga
• Viṣṇu (Mādhava)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True tīrtha-glory is understood through inquiry and teaching; sacred geography is revealed by divine explanation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prayāga—specifically the hidden/gupta Prayāga associated with Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this verse frames a question initiating the māhātmya narrative.