Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

पापघ्नं सर्वजंतूनां शांतं मूर्तिस्थितं प्रभुम् । समायातं महाक्षेत्रे तत्र कायावरोहणात्

Transliteration

pāpaghnaṃ sarvajaṃtūnāṃ śāṃtaṃ mūrtisthitaṃ prabhum | samāyātaṃ mahākṣetre tatra kāyāvarohaṇāt

Translation

സകല ജീവികളുടെയും പാപം നശിപ്പിക്കുന്ന, ശാന്തസ്വരൂപനും സാകാരമൂർത്തിയിൽ പ്രതിഷ്ഠിതനുമായ പ്രഭു ആ പുണ്യമായ കായാവരോഹണത്തിൽ നിന്ന് അവിടെ മഹാക്ഷേത്രം (പ്രഭാസം) എത്തിച്ചേർന്നു.

Word by Word

• पापघ्नम्: destroyer of sins
• पापघ्नम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + घ्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — accusative singular; विशेषणम् (प्रभुम्); तत्पुरुषः (पापं हन्ति इति)

• सर्वजन्तूनाम्: of all beings
• सर्वजन्तूनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + जन्तु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन — genitive plural; कर्मधारयः (सर्वे जन्तवः)

• शान्तम्: peaceful
• शान्तम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — accusative singular; विशेषणम् (प्रभुम्)

• मूर्तिस्थितम्: abiding in a form (embodied)
• मूर्तिस्थितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूर्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — accusative singular; विशेषणम् (प्रभुम्); सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः (मूर्तौ स्थितः)

• प्रभुम्: the Lord
• प्रभुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — accusative singular

• समायातम्: arrived
• समायातम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + या (धातु)
• Form: क्त (भूतकर्मणि) कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — past participle; विशेषणम् (प्रभुम्) ‘having come/arrived’

• महाक्षेत्रे: in the great sacred field
• महाक्षेत्रे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन — locative singular

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) — adverb ‘there’

• कायावरोहणात्: from (the place/event of) descent from the body; from Kāyāvarohaṇa
• कायावरोहणात्: Apādāna (Source/Cause/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काय (प्रातिपदिक) + अवरोहण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन — ablative singular; तत्पुरुषः (कायस्य अवरोहणम्)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Lakulīśvara-māhātmya; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa Mahākṣetra (with Kāyāvarohaṇa reference)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene, luminous Śiva in manifest form appears/arrives into the expanse of Prabhāsa Mahākṣetra; the atmosphere is calm, purifying, and protective, with devotees sensing sin-dissolution.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhu (Śiva)
• Mahākṣetra (Prabhāsa)
• Kāyāvarohaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s manifested presence in a tīrtha is portrayed as inherently purifying—accessible to all beings and capable of destroying sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa/Mahākṣetra, a principal sacred region praised in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes the sanctifying advent/presence of the Lord at the kṣetra.