Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

सोमेशात्पूर्वदिग्भागे षष्टिधन्वंतरे स्थितम् । यत्र देव्या तपस्तप्तं सत्या वै पूर्वजन्मनि

Transliteration

someśātpūrvadigbhāge ṣaṣṭidhanvaṃtare sthitam | yatra devyā tapastaptaṃ satyā vai pūrvajanmani

Translation

സോമേശനിൽ നിന്ന് കിഴക്കുദിക്കിൽ അറുപത് ധനുസ്സിന്റെ അകലത്തിൽ ആ സ്ഥലം സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്നു; അവിടെ ദേവി മുൻജന്മത്തിൽ സതീ രൂപത്തിൽ തപസ്സു ചെയ്തു.

Word by Word

• सोमेशात्: from Someśa (Somnātha)
• सोमेशात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोमेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सोमस्य ईशः)

• पूर्वदिग्भागे: in the eastern quarter/part
• पूर्वदिग्भागे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व + दिक् + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (पूर्वायाः दिशः भागे)

• षष्टिधन्वन्तरे: at (a distance of) sixty dhanvantaras
• षष्टिधन्वन्तरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्टि + धन्वन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-प्रयोगः (स्थाननाम), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (षष्टिः धन्वन्तराणि यस्मिन्)

• स्थितम्: situated
• स्थितम्: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु) → स्थित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि/कर्तरि कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle used adjectivally), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location marker/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक सम्बन्ध-अव्यय (where)

• देव्याः: of the goddess
• देव्याः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तप्तम्: was performed (heated/undertaken)
• तप्तम्: Kriya (Action-result/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु) → तप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सत्या: by Satyā (Satī)
• सत्या: Karana (Agent-instrument nuance/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; ‘सत्या’ = ‘सत्या (सती)’ नामरूपेण

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक अव्यय (indeed)

• पूर्वजन्मनि: in a former birth
• पूर्वजन्मनि: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व + जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (पूर्वे जन्मनि)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaurī/Satī Tapovana (east of Someśa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim path from Someśa toward the east for sixty bow-lengths, leading into a serene grove where Satī once performed tapas; subtle divine presence permeates the landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Someśa
• Devī
• Satī
• Tapovana
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography is anchored in divine biography: the Goddess’s tapas in a prior birth makes the terrain itself spiritually potent.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Tapovana/tapas-site of the Goddess (Satī/Gaurī), located east of Someśa in Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse provides a pilgrimage-directional locator (east of Someśa, sixty bow-lengths).