Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

तस्यैव पूर्वदिग्भागे बिलमस्ति सुशोभनम् । यत्रागत्य प्रकुर्वंति स्नानं पातालकन्यकाः

Transliteration

tasyaiva pūrvadigbhāge bilamasti suśobhanam | yatrāgatya prakurvaṃti snānaṃ pātālakanyakāḥ

Translation

Di bahagian timurnya terdapat sebuah gua yang amat indah, tempat para gadis Pātāla datang dan melakukan mandi.

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him/its
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• पूर्व-दिक्-भागे: in the eastern quarter/part
• पूर्व-दिक्-भागे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + दिक् (प्रातिपदिक) + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः; दिग्भागः = दिशः भागः), पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• बिलम्: a cave/hole
• बिलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अस्ति: is/exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• सु-शोभनम्: very beautiful
• सु-शोभनम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + शोभन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (कर्मधारयः; सुशोभनम् = अतिशयेन शोभनम्), नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifier)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रश्न/सम्बन्ध (relative adverb: where)

• आगत्य: having come
• आगत्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), उपसर्गः आ-

• प्रकुर्वन्ति: they perform/do
• प्रकुर्वन्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र- कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; उपसर्गः प्र-

• स्नानम्: bathing
• स्नानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• पाताल-कन्यकाः: the maidens of Pātāla (netherworld)
• पाताल-कन्यकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक) + कन्यका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः; पातालस्य कन्यकाः), स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pūrva-dik-bila (eastern cave) associated with the Arbuda jalāśaya

Type: cave

Visual Art Cues

Scene: To the east of the lake stands a beautiful cave mouth, ornamented by nature; pātāla maidens arrive in a mysterious procession to bathe, suggesting a hidden-world passage.

Characters & Entities

• Bila (cave)
• Pātāla
• Pātāla-kanyakāḥ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha is a meeting-point of worlds; its sanctity extends beyond the human realm, drawing even beings of Pātāla.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A splendid cave (bila) situated in the eastern part of the same sacred tīrtha region described in Arbuda-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathing (snāna) performed at the cave-associated sacred waters/spot by Pātāla maidens, indicating the site’s potency.