Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

वाराणस्यां कुरुक्षेत्रे नर्मदायां तु यत्फलम् । तत्फलं निमिषार्द्धेन भवं दृष्ट्वा दिनेदिने

Transliteration

vārāṇasyāṃ kurukṣetre narmadāyāṃ tu yatphalam | tatphalaṃ nimiṣārddhena bhavaṃ dṛṣṭvā dinedine

Translation

വാരാണസി, കുരുക്ഷേത്രം, നർമദയിൽ ലഭിക്കുന്ന പുണ്യഫലം—ഇവിടെ ദിനംപ്രതി ഭവദർശനത്തോടെ അർദ്ധനിമിഷത്തിൽ തന്നെ ലഭിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• वाराणस्याम्: in Vārāṇasī
• वाराणस्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• कुरुक्षेत्रे: in Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुक्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; समासः—कुरूणां क्षेत्रम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• नर्मदायाम्: in (the river) Narmadā
• नर्मदायाम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थे ‘but/indeed’

• यत्: whatever/that which
• यत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• फलम्: fruit, merit
• फलम्: Karma/Prameya (Result as predicate/कर्म-भाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; निर्देश (demonstrative)

• फलम्: fruit, merit
• फलम्: Karma/Prameya (Predicate/result)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• निमिषार्द्धेन: in half a moment
• निमिषार्द्धेन: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निमिष + अर्द्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; समासः—निमिषस्य अर्द्धम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• भवम्: Bhava (Śiva)
• भवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी; ‘having seen’

• दिनेदिने: day after day
• दिनेदिने: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिन + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; ‘दिने दिने’ इति पुनरुक्त-प्रयोगः (adverbial: day by day)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhava-darśana at Vastrāpatha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A central Bhava shrine at Vastrāpatha with a devotee beholding; around it, three vignette halos: Kāśī ghāṭas, Kurukṣetra field with sacred tanks, and Narmadā riverbank—showing their merits converging into the single darśana moment.

Characters & Entities

• Bhava (Śiva)
• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Kurukṣetra
• Narmadā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A highly sanctified kṣetra can concentrate the fruits of many famed pilgrimages into a simple act of devoted darśana.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vastrāpatha-kṣetra, by asserting its Bhava-darśana equals the fruits of Kāśī, Kurukṣetra, and Narmadā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Regular darśana—‘dine dine’—of Bhava (Śiva).