Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

तोषयेद्विधिवद्देवं केतुं कल्मषनाशनम्

Transliteration

toṣayedvidhivaddevaṃ ketuṃ kalmaṣanāśanam

Translation

Seseorang hendaklah, menurut tatacara yang benar, memuja dan menenangkan Dewa Ketu yang suci, pemusnah segala kekotoran dan noda dosa.

Word by Word

• तोषयेत्: should propitiate/please
• तोषयेत्: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तुष् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; णिच्-प्रयोगः (causative sense: ‘to please’)

• विधिवत्: according to proper rite
• विधिवत्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधिवत् (अव्यय; विधि + वत्)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• देवम्: the god
• देवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• केतुम्: Ketu
• केतुम्: Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; देवस्य विशेषण-नाम

• कल्मषनाशनम्: destroyer of sin/impurity
• कल्मषनाशनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कल्मष-नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (केतुम्/देवम्); समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कल्मषस्य नाशनः)

Speaker

Unknown (narrative voice within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ketu-liṅga / Ketu worship at Prabhāsa

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotees complete a proper propitiation of Ketu: the liṅga shines calmly; offerings are orderly; the devotee’s posture shifts from anxiety to serenity, symbolizing kalmaṣa being washed away.

Characters & Entities

• Ketu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritually grounded devotion transforms adversity into purification; Ketu becomes a force for cleansing when approached dharmically.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, in the sequence describing the Ketu-liṅga worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Vidhivat toṣaṇa—propitiation according to proper ritual procedure.