Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

वस्त्रापथस्य क्षेत्रस्य प्रमाणं शृणु भूपते । हरस्य त्यजतो भूमौ पतितं वस्त्रभूषणम्

Transliteration

vastrāpathasya kṣetrasya pramāṇaṃ śṛṇu bhūpate | harasya tyajato bhūmau patitaṃ vastrabhūṣaṇam

Translation

ഹേ ഭൂപതേ, വസ്ത്രാപഥത്തിന്റെ പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രപരിമാണം ശ്രവിക്കൂ. ഹരൻ (ശിവൻ) അത് ഉപേക്ഷിച്ചപ്പോൾ അവന്റെ വസ്ത്ര-ഭൂഷണം ഭൂമിയിൽ പതിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• वस्त्रापथस्य: of Vastrāpatha
• वस्त्रापथस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वस्त्रापथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (वस्त्राणां पथः)

• क्षेत्रस्य: of the sacred field
• क्षेत्रस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• प्रमाणम्: measure/extent
• प्रमाणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रमाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• शृणु: hear
• शृणु: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

• भूपते: O king
• भूपते: Sambodhana (Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूपति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• हरस्य: of Hara (Śiva)
• हरस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• त्यजतः: while (he) was leaving/abandoning
• त्यजतः: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्यज् (धातु) → त्यजत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (हरस्य)

• भूमौ: on the ground
• भूमौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• पतितम्: fallen
• पतितम्: Predicate (state)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पत् (धातु) → पतित (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम् (वस्त्रभूषणम्)

• वस्त्रभूषणम्: the garment-ornament / cloth-adornment
• वस्त्रभूषणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वस्त्र + भूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (वस्त्रस्य भूषणम्)

Speaker

Sārasvata (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (bhūpati)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Hara) casting off an ornamented garment; the radiant cloth-jewel descends and touches the earth, sanctifying the ground as devas witness and mark the kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Vastrāpatha
• Hara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred space is not arbitrary; it is sanctified and defined through Śiva’s own mythic actions and signs.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vastrāpatha Kṣetra is highlighted, with its boundaries tied to an event involving Hara (Śiva).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; the verse introduces the forthcoming description of the kṣetra’s pramāṇa (extent).