Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

ततस्तलं हनिष्यामि क्षण मात्रेण भैरवम्

Transliteration

tatastalaṃ haniṣyāmi kṣaṇa mātreṇa bhairavam

Translation

“അപ്പോൾ ഞാൻ ക്ഷണമാത്രത്തിൽ ഭൂമിയെ അടിച്ച് ഭൈരവശക്തിയെ പ്രകടമാക്കും.”

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Hetu/Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्-प्रभव (ablatival adverb)

• तलम्: the surface/ground
• तलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हनिष्यामि: I will strike/kill
• हनिष्यामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• क्षण: in a moment
• क्षण: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; (मात्रेण इत्यनेन सह कालपरिमाणे)

• मात्रेण: by the measure of (only)
• मात्रेण: Karana (Measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; परिमाणवाचक

• भैरवम्: Bhairava
• भैरवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भैरव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from immediate context: response to Viṣṇu’s request, followed by Īśvara-uvāca in the next verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Taptodaka / Bhairava-prabhava-kuṇḍa (implied)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rudra/Bhairava, fierce yet controlled, raises hand/weapon and strikes the ground; from the impact point, heat/steam and water begin to surge—an emergent hot spring/kuṇḍa; devas watch in awe.

Characters & Entities

• Bhairava
• Śiva (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is revealed through divine will; Śiva’s fierce, protective energy (Bhairava) can also be beneficent, creating holy resources.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse serves the origin-story sequence culminating in Taptodakuṇḍa at Prabhāsa Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; it narrates the divine act that enables later bathing and tīrtha practice.