Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

उद्भूता सा तदा देवी अधस्ताद्वृक्षमूलतः । तत्कोटर कुटीकोटिप्रविष्टानां द्विजन्मनाम्

Transliteration

udbhūtā sā tadā devī adhastādvṛkṣamūlataḥ | tatkoṭara kuṭīkoṭipraviṣṭānāṃ dvijanmanām

Translation

അപ്പോൾ ആ ദേവി വൃക്ഷമൂലത്തിന്റെ കീഴിൽ നിന്നു പ്രത്യക്ഷയായി; അവിടെ അനേകം ദ്വിജ ഋഷിമാർ കുഴികളിലും എണ്ണമറ്റ പർണ്ണകുടീരങ്ങളിലും തപസ്സിനായി പ്രവേശിച്ചിരുന്നു।

Word by Word

• उद्भूता: arisen, emerged
• उद्भूता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + भू (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); सा इति विशेष्य (apposition)

• अधस्तात्: from below, beneath
• अधस्तात्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधस्तात् (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• वृक्षमूलतः: from the root of the tree
• वृक्षमूलतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृक्ष + मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: वृक्षस्य मूलम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-विशेषण (demonstrative adjective), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); कोटर इति विशेषण

• कोटर: hollow, cavity
• कोटर: (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); समासाङ्ग (compound member)

• कुटीकोटि-प्रविष्टानाम्: of those who had entered crores of huts/cells (i.e., many hermitages)
• कुटीकोटि-प्रविष्टानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुटी + कोटि + प्रविष्ट (प्र + विश् धातु + क्त)
• Form: समास: (कुटीकोटि) कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष ("crores of huts" sense) + प्रविष्ट (P.P.P.); बहुवचन-षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), बहुवचन (Plural); द्विजन्मनाम् इति विशेषण

• द्विजन्मनाम्: of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजन्मनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वि + जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष: द्विजन्मा (= द्विज, twice-born); पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred grove in Prabhāsa: a massive tree with exposed roots; beneath the root a radiant Devī rises, while countless brāhmaṇa-ṛṣis occupy hollows and leaf-huts (parṇa-kuṭī), absorbed in austerity.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Dvijanman (twice-born sages)
• Tree (vṛkṣa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are recognized by the presence of tapas—where sages dwell and practice, divine powers naturally manifest.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sanctified ascetic locale associated with Pippalāda’s āśrama in the Himavat region is implied.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the verse emphasizes ascetic habitation (āśrama/tapas) as sanctifying practice.