Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

स्वायभुवोऽपि कालेन दक्षः प्राचेतसोऽभवत् । भवानीं स सुतां लब्ध्वा गिरिस्तुष्टो हिमा लयः

Transliteration

svāyabhuvo'pi kālena dakṣaḥ prācetaso'bhavat | bhavānīṃ sa sutāṃ labdhvā giristuṣṭo himā layaḥ

Translation

काळानुसार स्वायंभुव दक्षही प्राचेतस झाला. आणि हिमालयाला भवानी कन्यारूपाने मिळताच पर्वतराज अत्यंत तुष्ट झाला.

Word by Word

• svāyabhuvaḥ: Svāyambhuva (Manu)
• svāyabhuvaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svāyambhuva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेष्य-रूपेण (as subject-apposition)

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-अर्थे ‘also/even’

• kālena: in course of time
• kālena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; हेतु/काल-निर्देशे (by time, in course of time)

• dakṣaḥ: Dakṣa
• dakṣaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• prācetasaḥ: Prācetasa (descendant of Pracetas)
• prācetasaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prācetasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (epithet) ‘of Pracetas/Varuṇa-line’

• abhavat: became
• abhavat: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• bhavānīm: Bhavānī (Pārvatī)
• bhavānīm: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavānī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sutām: daughter
• sutām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sutā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• labdhvā: having obtained
• labdhvā: Kriya (क्रिया-अनुबंध/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘having obtained’

• giriḥ: the mountain (Himālaya)
• giriḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: giri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• tuṣṭaḥ: pleased
• tuṣṭaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tuṣṭa (तुष्-धातुज कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle)

• himālayaḥ: Himālaya (abode of snow)
• himālayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hima + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (himasya ālayaḥ)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Himālaya (as Śakti-janma-sthāna motif) within the narrative; Vastrāpatha-kṣetra as narration locus

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The curse matures: Dakṣa becomes Prācetasa in time; simultaneously, Himālaya rejoices upon receiving Bhavānī as daughter—an auspicious turning from tragedy to restoration.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Prācetasa
• Bhavānī
• Himālaya (Himavān)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Time (kāla) brings transformation: karmic outcomes manifest, and divine birth events occur for cosmic restoration.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage remains within the Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya of Prabhāsa, using Devī’s advent to elevate the kṣetra’s sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is genealogical and narrative, establishing the next phase of Devī’s incarnation.