Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

इति संक्षेपतः प्रोक्तं महाकालेश्वरं प्रिये । चित्रांगदो गणो देवि तेन चाराधितं पुरा

Transliteration

iti saṃkṣepataḥ proktaṃ mahākāleśvaraṃ priye | citrāṃgado gaṇo devi tena cārādhitaṃ purā

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ, പ്രിയേ, സംക്ഷേപമായി മഹാകാലേശ്വരന്റെ മഹിമ പ്രസ്താവിച്ചു. ദേവീ, പൂർവകാലത്ത് ചിത്രാംഗദൻ എന്ന ഗണൻ ഭക്തിയോടെ അവനെ ആരാധിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative/thus)

• saṃkṣepataḥ: briefly
• saṃkṣepataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saṃkṣepa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) ‘संक्षेपतः’ = briefly

• proktam: has been stated
• proktam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√vac (धातु; वच्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘said’

• mahākāleśvaram: Mahākāleśvara
• mahākāleśvaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्म (object)

• priye: O dear one
• priye: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; संबोधन-पद

• citrāṃgadaḥ: Citrāṃgada
• citrāṃgadaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: citra (प्रातिपदिक) + aṃgada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘चित्रः अङ्गदः’ (proper name)

• gaṇaḥ: a gaṇa (attendant troop-member)
• gaṇaḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• tena: by him
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

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

• ārādhitam: was worshipped
• ārādhitam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā√rādh (धातु; राध्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘worshipped/propitiated’

• purā: formerly, in the past
• purā: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahākāleśvara (later famed as Citrāṅgadeśvara)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva narrates to Devī the brief greatness of Mahākāleśvara; in the background a gaṇa named Citrāṅgada performs devoted worship before a radiant liṅga in the Prabhāsa landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Mahākāleśvara
• Citrāṅgada
• Gaṇa
• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sites gain authority through exemplary worshippers; even Śiva’s gaṇas model devotion to the kṣetra-deity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mahākāleśvara in Prabhāsa Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new prescription—this verse introduces a traditional precedent: Citrāṅgada’s ārādhana (propitiatory worship).