Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि मरुदार्यां महाप्रभाम् । तस्मात्पश्चिमदिग्भागे क्रोशार्द्धेन व्यवस्थिताम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi marudāryāṃ mahāprabhām | tasmātpaścimadigbhāge krośārddhena vyavasthitām

Translation

ഈശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—അതിനുശേഷം, ഹേ മഹാദേവി, മഹാപ്രഭയുള്ള മരുദാര്യയിലേക്കു പോകണം. അവൾ ആ സ്ഥലത്തിന്റെ പടിഞ്ഞാറ് ദിക്കിൽ അർധ ക്രോശ ദൂരത്തിൽ സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നു.

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; वक्ता (speaker)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of sequence)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक; महा + देवी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; संबोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• marudāryām: Marudāryā (goddess/place)
• marudāryām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: marudāryā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (object)

• mahāprabhām: of great radiance
• mahāprabhām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā-prabhā (प्रातिपदिक; महा + प्रभा)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying marudāryām)

• tasmāt: from there
• tasmāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tasmāt (सर्वनाम; tad)
• Form: तद्-प्रातिपदिकस्य पञ्चमी-एकवचनरूपम्, अव्ययीभूत (ablatival adverb: 'from there/thereafter')

• paścima: western
• paścima: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paścima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying digbhāge)

• digbhāge: in the direction-part (region)
• digbhāge: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś-bhāga (प्रातिपदिक; दिश् + भाग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• krośārdhena: by half a krośa (distance)
• krośārdhena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krośa-ardha (प्रातिपदिक; क्रोश + अर्ध)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण (measure as instrument)

• vyavasthitām: situated/located
• vyavasthitām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-ava-sthā (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying marudāryām)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Marudāryā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva, as guide, indicates the western direction; a pilgrim group walks a short distance across the sacred coastal plain toward a luminous water-spot or shrine named Marudāryā.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara
• Mahādevī
• Marudāryā (Devī)
• Krośa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is presented as a guided sacred journey—moving from one sanctified locus to another with reverence and right orientation.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

Marudāryā Devī’s shrine/site within the Prabhāsa Kṣetra region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pilgrimage instruction: proceed to Marudāryā, located half a krośa to the west.