Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

भूत्वा यज्ञवराहोऽसावुद्दधार महीं ततः । तस्योद्धृतवतः पृथ्वीं दंष्ट्राग्रं निर्गतं बहिः

Transliteration

bhūtvā yajñavarāho'sāvuddadhāra mahīṃ tataḥ | tasyoddhṛtavataḥ pṛthvīṃ daṃṣṭrāgraṃ nirgataṃ bahiḥ

Translation

അവൻ യജ്ഞ-വരാഹനായി ഭൂമിയെ ഉയർത്തി. ഭൂമിയെ ഉദ್ಧരിക്കുമ്പോൾ അവന്റെ ദംഷ്ട്രയുടെ അഗ്രഭാഗം പുറത്തേക്ക് പ്രത്യക്ഷപ്പെട്ടു.

Word by Word

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Kriya (Adverbial action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); ‘भूत्वा’ = having become

• yajñavarāhaḥ: the sacrificial Boar (Varāha)
• yajñavarāhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक) + varāha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (यज्ञः एव वराहः)

• asau: he/that one
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• uddadhāra: lifted up
• uddadhāra: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dhṛ (धातु) with ud-
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mahīm: the earth
• mahīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्ययार्थः—‘ततः/thereupon, from there’ (adverb)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• uddhṛtavataḥ: of the lifter (who had raised)
• uddhṛtavataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ud-√dhṛ (धातु) + -vat (प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्तवतु-प्रत्ययान्त (past active participle in -वत्); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; ‘of (him) who had lifted’

• pṛthvīm: the earth
• pṛthvīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛthvī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• daṃṣṭrāgram: the tip of the tusk
• daṃṣṭrāgram: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṃṣṭrā (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (दंष्ट्रायाः अग्रं)

• nirgatam: came out/protruded
• nirgatam: Karta (Subject complement/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-√gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; (दंष्ट्राग्रं) निर्गतम्

• bahiḥ: outside
• bahiḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bahiḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yajña-Varāha rises from the cosmic waters, the Earth (Bhū-devī) lifted upon the tip of his tusk; droplets and foam cascade; the tusk-tip emerges outward as the world is raised, with a radiant horizon behind—suggesting Prabhāsa’s coastal liminality.

Characters & Entities

• Yajñavarāha
• Pṛthvī (Earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

World-restoration is not abstract: divine action leaves sacred traces that become loci of pilgrimage and remembrance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This is the immediate lead-in to the Prābhāsika sacred spot where the tusk tip becomes associated with Karddamāla.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse narrates the physical sign (the tusk tip) that becomes significant for the tīrtha’s identity.