Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 149

Devanagari script

इत्येतत्कथितं देवि रहस्यं पापनाशनम् । क्षेत्रबीजं महादेवि किमन्यत्परिपृच्छसि

Transliteration

ityetatkathitaṃ devi rahasyaṃ pāpanāśanam | kṣetrabījaṃ mahādevi kimanyatparipṛcchasi

Translation

ഹേ ദേവി, പാപനാശകമായ ഈ രഹസ്യം—ഈ ക്ഷേത്രത്തിന്റെ ‘ബീജം’—ഞാൻ പ്രസ്താവിച്ചു. ഹേ മഹാദേവി, ഇനി എന്താണ് ചോദിക്കുവാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നത്?

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Discourse marker (उक्त्यर्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kathitam: has been told
• kathitam: Karma (Predicate complement/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु) → kathita (कृदन्त-क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

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

• rahasyam: secret (teaching)
• rahasyam: Karma (Apposition/object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rahasya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• pāpa-nāśanam: destroyer of sin
• pāpa-nāśanam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः—तत्पुरुष (पापस्य नाशनम्)

• kṣetra-bījam: the seed/essence of the sacred place
• kṣetra-bījam: Karma (Apposition/object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + bīja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (क्षेत्रस्य बीजम्)

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (महती देवī)

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• anyat: other, else
• anyat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• paripṛcchasi: do you ask (further)
• paripṛcchasi: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari+prach (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī Satī (inner); Śaunaka and sages (outer frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śaṅkara concludes a confidential exposition to Devī, naming it the ‘kṣetra-bīja’; Devī poised to ask further, the atmosphere calm and luminous.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Devī (Pārvatī)
• Prabhāsa
• Kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Māhātmya is presented as a sin-destroying secret and the essential principle (kṣetra-bīja) of the holy place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa kṣetra is the context; the verse summarizes its rahasya as pāpa-nāśana.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual instruction; it concludes an esoteric explanation about the kṣetra’s essence.