Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

अंबिका च स्थिता देवी प्रद्युम्नः सांब एव च । लिंगाकारे पर्वते तु तत्र तीर्थानि कोटिशः

Transliteration

aṃbikā ca sthitā devī pradyumnaḥ sāṃba eva ca | liṃgākāre parvate tu tatra tīrthāni koṭiśaḥ

Translation

അവിടെ ദേവി അംബികയും, പ്രദ്യുമ്നനും സാംബനും വസിക്കുന്നു; ലിംഗാകാരമായ ആ പർവതത്തിൽ കോടിക്കണക്കിന് തീർത്ഥങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ട്।

Word by Word

• अम्बिका: Ambikā
• अम्बिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्बिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

• स्थिता: is situated/stands
• स्थिता: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘standing/abiding’

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; अम्बिकाया अप्पोजिशन

• प्रद्युम्नः: Pradyumna
• प्रद्युम्नः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रद्युम्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• साम्बः: Sāmba
• साम्बः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साम्ब (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• एव: indeed/also
• एव: Emphasis (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

• लिङ्गाकारे: in/at the liṅga-shaped
• लिङ्गाकारे: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लिङ्ग + आकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; समासः—लिङ्गस्य आकारः (लिङ्गाकार)

• पर्वते: on the mountain
• पर्वते: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• तु: and/but
• तु: Sambandha/Contrast (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrastive particle)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• तीर्थानि: tīrthas
• तीर्थानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन

• कोटिशः: in crores; countless
• कोटिशः: Saṅkhyā/Parimāṇa (Quantifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: शस्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (measure/distributive): ‘in crores’

Speaker

Śiva (continuing the tīrtha-description to Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Liṅgākāra-parvata tīrtha-koṭi (Vastrāpatha)

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A towering mountain whose silhouette resembles a liṅga; on terraces stand shrines: Ambikā in a red-hued sanctum, Pradyumna and Sāmba in royal Yādava iconography; countless small tīrtha pools and springs dot the slopes like jewels.

Characters & Entities

• Ambikā
• Pradyumna
• Sāmba
• Liṅgākāra Parvata (liṅga-shaped mountain)
• Tīrthas (countless)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A kṣetra becomes supremely sacred when divine presences—Devī and revered deities—abide there, making the land rich with innumerable tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The liṅgākāra (liṅga-formed) mountain within Vastrāpatha Kṣetra of Prabhāsa, said to contain countless tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription is stated; the emphasis is on pilgrimage-value and the density of tīrthas at the site.