Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

वेदापहारी देवेशि विष्णुना प्रभविष्णुना । कृतं शखोदकं तीर्थं शंखाकारं तु दृश्यते

Transliteration

vedāpahārī deveśi viṣṇunā prabhaviṣṇunā | kṛtaṃ śakhodakaṃ tīrthaṃ śaṃkhākāraṃ tu dṛśyate

Translation

ഹേ ദേവേശീ! വേദങ്ങൾ അപഹരിച്ചവനെ സർവ്വവ്യാപിയായ പ്രഭുവിഷ്ണു സംഹരിച്ചു. അവിടെ ‘ശംഖോദകം’ എന്ന തീർത്ഥം സ്ഥാപിതമായി; അത് ശംഖാകാരമായി ദൃശ്യമാകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• वेदापहारी: the stealer of the Vedas
• वेदापहारी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद + अपहारी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वेदस्य अपहारी = वेदापहारी)

• देवेशि: O goddess (lady of the gods)
• देवेशि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवेशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• विष्णुना: by Viṣṇu
• विष्णुना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• प्रभविष्णुना: by the mighty Viṣṇu
• प्रभविष्णुना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभ + विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (प्रभः विष्णुः = प्रभविष्णुः)

• कृतम्: made, created
• कृतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘made/created’

• शखोदकम्: conch-water (water of/like a conch)
• शखोदकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शंख + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (शंखस्य उदकम्)

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• तीर्थम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• शंखाकारम्: conch-shaped
• शंखाकारम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शंख + आकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (शंखस्य आकारः)

• तु: indeed, but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/contrastive particle)

• दृश्यते: is seen, appears
• दृश्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (is seen/appears)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śaṅkhodaka

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A conch-shaped pool or river-inlet is seen from above; Viṣṇu’s act of subduing the Veda-stealing being is evoked; the landscape frames the waterbody as a sacred emblem.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Vedāpahārī (Veda-stealer)
• Śaṅkhodaka tīrtha
• Śaṅkha (conch)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine protection of the Vedas and dharma sanctifies geography; tīrthas embody the victory of order over theft and chaos.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śaṅkhodaka tīrtha within the Śaṃkhāvartta/Prabhāsakṣetra sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, the verse identifies a bathing/pilgrimage tīrtha (Śaṅkhodaka), though the act is stated in the next verses.