Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

पूर्वकल्पे श्रिया वृत्तो वामनस्तु द्वितीयके । वज्रांगस्तु तृतीये वै तुरीये कमलाप्रियः

Transliteration

pūrvakalpe śriyā vṛtto vāmanastu dvitīyake | vajrāṃgastu tṛtīye vai turīye kamalāpriyaḥ

Translation

മുൻ കല്പത്തിൽ അദ്ദേഹം ‘ശ്രിയാവൃത്ത’ എന്നറിയപ്പെട്ടു; രണ്ടാം കല്പത്തിൽ ‘വാമന’; മൂന്നാമത്തിൽ തീർച്ചയായും ‘വജ്രാംഗ’; നാലാമത്തിൽ ‘കമലാപ്രിയ’ (ലക്ഷ്മീപ്രിയൻ) എന്ന നാമത്തിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധനായി.

Word by Word

• पूर्वकल्पे: in the former kalpa
• पूर्वकल्पे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + कल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष (previous kalpa)

• श्रिया: by/with (the name) Śrī
• श्रिया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• वृत्तः: was (known as)/occurred
• वृत्तः: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत् (धातु) → वृत्त (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• वामनः: Vāmana
• वामनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वामन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• तु: and/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrast/emphasis)

• द्वितीयके: in the second (kalpa)
• द्वितीयके: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वितीयक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• वज्राङ्गः: Vajrāṅga
• वज्राङ्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (vajra-like-bodied)

• तु: and/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrast/emphasis)

• तृतीये: in the third (kalpa)
• तृतीये: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृतीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis)

• तुरीये: in the fourth (kalpa)
• तुरीये: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुरीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• कमलाप्रियः: Kamalāpriya (beloved of Lakṣmī)
• कमलाप्रियः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कमला (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (beloved of Kamalā/Śrī)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in the given snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A four-panel kalpa sequence: the same radiant deity shown with subtle iconographic shifts, each panel labeled with the epithet—Śriyā-vṛtta, Vāmana, Vajrāṅga, Kamalāpriya—set against a continuous Prabhāsa coastal horizon.

Characters & Entities

• Śrī (Lakṣmī)
• Vāmana
• Vajrāṅga
• Kamalāpriya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Divine is one, yet is praised through many names and forms across cosmic cycles; devotion deepens by remembering these sacred epithets.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), presented as a field of divine manifestation where the Lord’s greatness is recounted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated here; the verse functions as nāma-smaraṇa (recollection of divine names) within the Māhātmya.