Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

कृत्वा वक्त्रं विशालाक्षि प्राची भव सुमध्यमे । ततो यास्यंति तीर्थानि त्वां श्रांतां चारुहासिनीम्

Transliteration

kṛtvā vaktraṃ viśālākṣi prācī bhava sumadhyame | tato yāsyaṃti tīrthāni tvāṃ śrāṃtāṃ cāruhāsinīm

Translation

ഹേ വിശാലാക്ഷി, സുമധ്യമേ! മുഖം കിഴക്കോട്ടാക്കി പ്രാചീമുഖിയായി ഇരിക്ക; അപ്പോൾ നീ ക്ഷീണിതയായിരിക്കുമ്പോൾ, ഹേ ചാരുഹാസിനീ, തീർത്ഥങ്ങൾ നിന്റെ അടുക്കൽ വരും।

Word by Word

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) = having made; अव्ययभाव

• vaktram: face, mouth
• vaktram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaktra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• viśālākṣi: O wide-eyed one
• viśālākṣi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśāla-akṣi (प्रातिपदिक; viśāla + akṣi)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (viśāle akṣiṇī yasyāḥ)

• prācī: eastern (facing east)
• prācī: Pradhāna-predicative (Predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prācī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; दिशावाचक विशेषण; predicate with "bhava"

• bhava: become
• bhava: Kriyā (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sumadhyame: O slender-waisted one
• sumadhyame: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su-madhyamā (प्रातिपदिक; su + madhyamā)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (सु मध्यमं yasyāḥ)

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; ततो = तस्मात्/ततः (thereafter)

• yāsyanti: will go
• yāsyanti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (या)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• tīrthāni: holy places
• tīrthāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• śrāntām: wearied, tired
• śrāntām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śrānta (कृदन्त; √śram/श्रम्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) qualifying "tvām"

• cāruhāsinīm: smiling beautifully
• cāruhāsinīm: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cāru-hāsinī (प्रातिपदिक; cāru + hāsinī)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (cāru hāsinī) qualifying "tvām"

Speaker

Brahmā (deduced from immediate context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (tīrtha-sannipāta motif)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The addressed ‘daughter’

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A graceful maiden sits resting, face turned to the rising sun; from all directions, personified tīrthas—river-goddesses, sages, and luminous water-forms—approach her in reverence, carrying lotuses and water pots.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Tīrthas (personified sacred places)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Orientation and sacred space matter in Purāṇic dharma; holiness converges where the divine is honored.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, portrayed as a locus where multiple tīrthas assemble and offer support.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An auspicious instruction is implied—facing east—though no formal snāna/japa/dāna is specified.