Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि भल्लतीर्थमनुत्तमम् । तस्याश्च पश्चिमे भागे यत्र विष्णुश्चतुर्भुजः

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi bhallatīrthamanuttamam | tasyāśca paścime bhāge yatra viṣṇuścaturbhujaḥ

Translation

ഈശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—അതിനുശേഷം, ഹേ മഹാദേവീ, അത്യുത്തമമായ ഭല്ലതീർത്ഥത്തിലേക്ക് പോകണം. അതിന്റെ പടിഞ്ഞാറ് ഭാഗത്ത് ചതുര്ഭുജനായ വിഷ്ണു വിരാജിക്കുന്ന സ്ഥലം ഉണ്ട്.

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Lord Śiva)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; वक्ता

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; 'said'

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; 'then/thereafter'

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; 'should go'

• mahā-devi: O Mahādevī
• mahā-devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन; 'O great goddess'

• bhalla-tīrtham: to Bhalla-tīrtha
• bhalla-tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhalla (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'भल्लस्य तीर्थम्'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; गमनस्य कर्म

• anuttamam: unsurpassed
• anuttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (तीर्थम्); 'unsurpassed, excellent'

• tasyāḥ: of that
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; 'of it/of that (place)'

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय)

• paścime: in the western
• paścime: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paścima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषण (भागे); 'in the western'

• bhāge: in the region
• bhāge: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; 'in the part/region'

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक) = relative locative adverb; 'where'

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता

• catur-bhujaḥ: four-armed
• catur-bhujaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + bhuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास: 'चत्वारो भुजाः यस्य सः'; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (विष्णुः)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhallatīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Īśvara) instructs the Great Goddess on a pilgrimage route; in the distance lies Bhallatīrtha with a western-side shrine where four-armed Viṣṇu stands, conch and discus visible, framed by coastal vegetation.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Bhallatīrtha
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is presented as a guided dharmic journey—moving from tīrtha to tīrtha with awareness of the deity’s presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bhallatīrtha within Prabhāsa-kṣetra, along with a nearby Viṣṇu-sthāna on its western side.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prescription of movement/visit (gacchet)—to go and approach the tīrtha and the Viṣṇu presence there.