Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

गुप्तचर्यां यदा याताः पांडवा वनवासिनः । तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगेन प्रभासं क्षेत्रमागताः

Transliteration

guptacaryāṃ yadā yātāḥ pāṃḍavā vanavāsinaḥ | tīrthayātrāprasaṃgena prabhāsaṃ kṣetramāgatāḥ

Translation

വനവാസികളായ പാണ്ഡവർ ഗുപ്തചര്യ (അജ്ഞാതവാസം) സ്വീകരിച്ചപ്പോൾ, തീർത്ഥയാത്രയുടെ അവസരത്തിൽ അവർ പ്രഭാസക്ഷേത്രത്തിലേക്ക് എത്തി.

Word by Word

• गुप्तचर्याम्: secret conduct/hidden life
• गुप्तचर्याम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुप्तचर्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; 'गुप्तचर्या' = गुप्त-चर्या (गुप्त = concealed, चर्या = conduct)

• यदा: when
• यदा: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• याताः: having gone
• याताः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'gone/having gone'

• पाण्डवाः: the Pāṇḍavas
• पाण्डवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• वनवासिनः: dwelling in the forest
• वनवासिनः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वनवासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying पाण्डवाः)

• तीर्थयात्राप्रसङ्गेन: by occasion of a pilgrimage
• तीर्थयात्राप्रसङ्गेन: Karana (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ-यात्रा-प्रसङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; समासः: (तीर्थयात्रायाः प्रसङ्गः) षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• प्रभासम्: Prabhāsa
• प्रभासम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• क्षेत्रम्: the sacred field/holy place
• क्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; 'प्रभासं क्षेत्रम्' = apposition

• आगताः: arrived
• आगताः: Karta (Predicate/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'arrived'

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The five Pāṇḍavas in forest attire travel as pilgrims toward Prabhāsa, carrying minimal gear, moving with alertness of incognito life; the sacred coastline/river-mouth landscape appears ahead.

Characters & Entities

• Pāṇḍavas
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Tīrtha-yātrā
• Guptacaryā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even amid hardship, the righteous uphold pilgrimage and sacred observances, turning travel into dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, presented as a destination within the Pāṇḍavas’ tīrtha-yātrā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite; it frames the context of tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) as the motivating occasion.