Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

ऐंद्रवारुणमाश्रित्य गोमुखादाऽश्वमेधिकम् । अत्रांतरे महादेवि शिवक्षेत्रं विदुर्बुधाः

Transliteration

aiṃdravāruṇamāśritya gomukhādā'śvamedhikam | atrāṃtare mahādevi śivakṣetraṃ vidurbudhāḥ

Translation

इंद्र-वरुण-संबंधित पवित्र प्रदेशाचा आधार घेऊन, गोमुखापासून आश्वमेधिक (तीर्थ) पर्यंतचा जो मधला भाग आहे, हे महादेवी, तो पंडित शिवक्षेत्र म्हणून जाणतात.

Word by Word

• ऐन्द्रवारुणम्: the Aindra and Vāruṇa (rite/section)
• ऐन्द्रवारुणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऐन्द्र + वारुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—ऐन्द्रः च वारुणः च (द्वन्द्व)

• आश्रित्य: having resorted to
• आश्रित्य: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-श्रि (धातु) + क्त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), ‘having resorted to/depending on’

• गोमुखात्: from Gomukha
• गोमुखात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समासः—गोः मुखम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• अश्वमेधिकम्: Aśvamedhika (tīrtha)
• अश्वमेधिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (तीर्थनाम)

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• अन्तरे: in between, within
• अन्तरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘in the interval/within’

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; समासः—महती देवी (कर्मधारय)

• शिवक्षेत्रम्: Śiva’s sacred region
• शिवक्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—शिवस्य क्षेत्रम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• विदुः: know
• विदुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• बुधाः: the wise (people)
• बुधाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator addressing Mahādevī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aindravāruṇa–Gomukha–Aśvamedhika Śiva-kṣetra tract

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred map-like panorama: markers ‘Gomukha’, ‘Aindravāruṇa’, ‘Aśvamedhika’; Śiva indicates the span to Devī as a consecrated Śiva-domain.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādevī
• Śiva
• Indra
• Varuṇa
• Gomukha
• Aśvamedhika (tīrtha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography itself becomes dharma: recognizing Śiva’s kṣetra inspires faith, pilgrimage, and reverence for tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Śiva-kṣetra stretch in Prabhāsa, described as lying between Gomukha and the Aśvamedhika tīrtha, near the Indra–Varuṇa region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the verse primarily identifies and maps a Śiva-kṣetra.