Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

क्षयाभिभूतदेहो वा तं समभ्यर्च्य भक्तितः । सर्वदुःखान्तगो भूत्वा निर्मलं पदमाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

kṣayābhibhūtadeho vā taṃ samabhyarcya bhaktitaḥ | sarvaduḥkhāntago bhūtvā nirmalaṃ padamāpnuyāt

Translation

क्षयरोगाने ग्रस्त देह असला तरी जो भक्तिभावाने त्या प्रभूची पूजा करतो, तो सर्व दुःखांचा अंत करून निर्मळ पद प्राप्त करतो.

Word by Word

• क्षयाभिभूतदेहः: one whose body is overcome by decay
• क्षयाभिभूतदेहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय + अभि + भू (धातु) → अभिभूत + देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः: क्षयेन अभिभूतः देहः यस्य सः

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (or)

• तम्: him/that (Vimaleśvara)
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• समभ्यर्च्य: having worshipped
• समभ्यर्च्य: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + अभि + अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) रूप; पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• भक्तितः: out of devotion; with devotion
• भक्तितः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (from/through devotion)

• सर्वदुःखान्तगः: having reached the end of all sorrows
• सर्वदुःखान्तगः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + दुःख + अन्त + ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; समास: सर्वेषां दुःखानाम् अन्तं गतः

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) रूप; पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• निर्मलम्: pure; spotless
• निर्मलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• पदम्: state; abode
• पदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• आप्नुयात्: would attain; should attain
• आप्नुयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vimaleśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī (addressed as 'bhavasundarī')

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee weakened by wasting disease offers flowers and water to a radiant liṅga; a soft aura of purity spreads, and the devotee’s suffering dissolves into calm luminosity.

Characters & Entities

• Vimaleśvara
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bhakti-centered worship at a kṣetra-liṅga is depicted as granting both relief from suffering and the highest purity of attainment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vimaleśvara within Prabhāsakṣetra, praised for ending duḥkha and granting a nirmala state.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Samabhyarcana—devotional worship (pūjā/arcana) of Vimaleśvara with bhakti.