Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

ततो बालाश्च वृद्धाश्च ऋषयो वेदपारगाः । शूद्राः स्त्रियोऽपि तं दृष्ट्वा प्रयांति परमां गतिम्

Transliteration

tato bālāśca vṛddhāśca ṛṣayo vedapāragāḥ | śūdrāḥ striyo'pi taṃ dṛṣṭvā prayāṃti paramāṃ gatim

Translation

അതുകൊണ്ട് ബാലരും വൃദ്ധരും, വേദപാരംഗത ഋഷിമാരും, ശൂദ്രരും സ്ത്രീകളും പോലും—അവനെ ദർശിച്ചതുമാത്രത്തിൽ—പരമഗതി പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb); अर्थे—ततः = तस्मात्/अनन्तरम् (thereupon/then)

• bālāḥ: boys/children
• bālāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• vṛddhāḥ: old men/elders
• vṛddhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• ṛṣayaḥ: sages
• ṛṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• vedapāragāḥ: versed in the Vedas (having reached the far shore of the Vedas)
• vedapāragāḥ: Karta (Subject-Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda + pāra + ga (प्रातिपदिक; ग-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifier) ऋषयः इत्यस्य

• śūdrāḥ: Śūdras
• śūdrāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūdra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• striyaḥ: women
• striyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि = अपि/अप्यर्थे (also/even)

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive); धातु—दृश् (to see) = ‘having seen’

• prayānti: go/attain
• prayānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + yā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• paramām: supreme
• paramām: Karma (Object-Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier) गतिम् इत्यस्य

• gatim: state/goal/destination
• gatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Someśvara (Somnātha)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A procession at Somnātha: children holding elders’ hands, ascetics with matted hair, householders, women and śūdras—everyone gazing at the liṅga; above them a serene, luminous 'paramā gati' symbolized as a radiant summit.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis
• Veda
• Śiva (implied via Someśvara/Śivālaya context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana of the sacred presence at Prabhāsa is depicted as universally liberating.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra (Someśvara’s sphere), where mere sight grants the highest goal.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the emphasis is on darśana (beholding) as spiritually transformative.