Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

देव्युवाच । यदेतद्भवता प्रोक्तं प्राची सर्वत्र दुर्ल्लभा । विशेषेण कुरुक्षेत्रे प्रभासे पुष्करे तथा

Transliteration

devyuvāca | yadetadbhavatā proktaṃ prācī sarvatra durllabhā | viśeṣeṇa kurukṣetre prabhāse puṣkare tathā

Translation

ദേവി അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ഭവാൻ പറഞ്ഞതു പോലെ പ്രാചീ നദി സർവത്ര ദുർലഭം; പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് കുരുക്ഷേത്രത്തിലും പ്രഭാസത്തിലും പുഷ്കരത്തിലും കൂടെ।

Word by Word

• देवी: the Goddess
• देवी: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriyā (Predicate verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्: ‘said’

• यत्: which/that
• यत्: Karman (Object of ‘proktaṃ’/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; सम्बन्धबोधकं (relative pronoun)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karman (Apposition to ‘yat’/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; निर्देशार्थकं (demonstrative)

• भवता: by you
• भवता: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (instrumental/करण), एकवचनम्; आदरार्थे (honorific ‘by you’)

• प्रोक्तम्: spoken
• प्रोक्तम्: Kriyā (Predicate in passive sense/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; ‘said/spoken’

• प्राची: Prācī (name; eastern/Prācī river)
• प्राची: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राची (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; (नदी/दिक्-नाम)

• सर्वत्र: everywhere
• सर्वत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvatra (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक-adverb): ‘everywhere’

• दुर्लभा: rare/hard to obtain
• दुर्लभा: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate to subject/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (predicate adjective)

• विशेषेण: especially
• विशेषेण: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषणम् (instrumental used adverbially): ‘especially’

• कुरुक्षेत्रे: in Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुक्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (locative/अधिकरण), एकवचनम्; समासः: कुरूणां क्षेत्रम्

• प्रभासे: in Prabhāsa
• प्रभासे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्

• पुष्करे: in Puṣkara
• पुष्करे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्

• तथा: and likewise
• तथा: Samuccaya (Conjunctive/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/particle): ‘and likewise/also’

Speaker

Devī (Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prācī (at Prabhāsa; also referenced at Kurukṣetra and Puṣkara)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Maheśvara (Īśvara)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī, seated beside Maheśvara in a sacred grove, points toward a faint, shimmering watercourse; in the background appear emblematic silhouettes of Kurukṣetra, Prabhāsa seashore, and Puṣkara lake, indicating the river’s rare presence across famed pilgrimage landscapes.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Prācī (river/tīrtha)
• Kurukṣetra
• Prabhāsa
• Puṣkara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The greatest tīrthas are rare and therefore worthy of special seeking; sacred geography is revealed through divine dialogue.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prācī tīrtha, highlighted in relation to Kurukṣetra, Prabhāsa, and Puṣkara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse introduces a theological-geographical inquiry.