Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्प्राभासिके क्षेत्रे कर्द्दमेन विलेपितम् । तद्दंष्ट्राग्रं यतो देवि कर्द्दमालं ततः स्मृतम्

Transliteration

tasminprābhāsike kṣetre karddamena vilepitam | taddaṃṣṭrāgraṃ yato devi karddamālaṃ tataḥ smṛtam

Translation

ആ പ്രാഭാസിക പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ ദംഷ്ട്രാഗ്രം കർദമംകൊണ്ട് ലേപിതമായി; അതുകൊണ്ട്, ഹേ ദേവി, അത് ‘കർദമാല’ എന്ന നാമത്തിൽ സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു।

Word by Word

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• prābhāsike: in Prābhāsa (related to Prabhāsa)
• prābhāsike: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prābhāsika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘प्राभासिके’ (क्षेत्रे)

• kṣetre: in the sacred field/place
• kṣetre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• karddamena: with mud
• karddamena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karddama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• vilepitam: smeared
• vilepitam: Karta (Subject complement/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-√lip (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (दंष्ट्राग्रं) विलेपितम् = smeared

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण

• 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)

• yataḥ: because/from which
• yataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थे (causal relative adverb) ‘यतः = because/from which’

• devi: O Goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• karddamālam: (the place called) Karddamāla
• karddamālam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karddama (प्रातिपदिक) + āla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (कर्द्दमस्य आलः/आलयः/समूहः; स्थाननाम)

• tataḥ: therefore
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/therefore (consequential adverb)

• smṛtam: is remembered/called
• smṛtam: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) used predicatively; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘is called/known’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Karddamāla

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as ‘devi’/‘priye’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred patch of Prabhāsa where the tip of Varāha’s tusk is shown smeared with wet earth, while sages/goddess-listener receive the explanation of the name Karddamāla; the landscape suggests coastal Gujarat with sandy soil and a small muddy hollow.

Characters & Entities

• Prābhāsika Kṣetra (Prabhāsa)
• Karddama (mud)
• Karddamāla
• Devī
• Yajñavarāha (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even seemingly ordinary substances like mud become sanctified when touched by divine acts; sacred geography is born from divine contact.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Karddamāla tīrtha in Prabhāsa Kṣetra (Prābhāsika kṣetra).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription here; the verse provides the tīrtha’s naming-legend (nāma-nirukti) central to its māhātmya.