Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

जीवन्त्यत्र नरा देवि कृतत्रेतादिषु क्रमात् । यदेतत्पार्थिवं पद्मं चतुष्पत्रं मयोदितम्

Transliteration

jīvantyatra narā devi kṛtatretādiṣu kramāt | yadetatpārthivaṃ padmaṃ catuṣpatraṃ mayoditam

Translation

ହେ ଦେବୀ! ଏଠାରେ ନରମାନେ କୃତ, ତ୍ରେତା ଆଦି ଯୁଗମାନେ କ୍ରମକ୍ରମେ (ଯଥାୟୋଗ୍ୟ ଆୟୁ-ଧର୍ମ ସହ) ଜୀବନ ଯାପନ କରନ୍ତି। ମୁଁ ଯେ ପାର୍ଥିବ ପଦ୍ମ କହିଛି, ସେହିଟି ଚତୁଷ୍ପତ୍ର—ଚାରି ପତ୍ରବିଶିଷ୍ଟ।

Word by Word

• jīvanti: live
• jīvanti: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jīv (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: Deśa-avyaya (adverb of place)

• narāḥ: men/people
• narāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• devi: O Goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Sambodhana vibhakti (Vocative), Ekavacana

• kṛta-tretā-ādiṣu: in Kṛta, Tretā, etc. (yugas)
• kṛta-tretā-ādiṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + tretā (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/napuṃsakaliṅga (contextual), Saptamī vibhakti (Locative/7th), Bahuvacana; dvandva with ādi ‘etc.’ meaning ‘in Kṛta, Tretā, etc.’

• kramāt: successively/in order
• kramāt: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Pañcamī vibhakti (Ablative/5th), Ekavacana; avyayībhāva-like adverbial usage ‘in order/successively’

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Accusative, Ekavacana; relative pronoun

• etat: this
• etat: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Accusative, Ekavacana; demonstrative pronoun

• pārthivam: earthly/terrestrial
• pārthivam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pārthiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Accusative, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa of padmam

• padmam: lotus
• padmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Accusative, Ekavacana

• catuṣ-patram: four-petalled
• catuṣ-patram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catuṣ (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + patra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Accusative, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa ‘having four petals’ used adjectivally

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Kartṛ-karaṇa (Agent-instrument/कर्ता-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/strīliṅga, Tṛtīyā vibhakti (Instrumental/3rd), Ekavacana; pronoun

• uditam: spoken/said
• uditam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√vad/ud (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Bhūta-kṛdanta (past passive participle), Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Accusative, Ekavacana; ‘spoken/uttered’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda addresses Devī, pointing to a stylized earth-lotus with four petals; each petal hints at a continent/varṣa, while behind them a subtle sequence of yugas shows humans changing in vigor and lifespan.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Kṛta-yuga
• Tretā-yuga
• Yuga
• Pārthiva Padma (earth-lotus)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human life is conditioned by yuga-time, yet Bhārata remains the sacred arena where dharma is taught through cosmic symbolism.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None explicitly; the lotus-metaphor frames the sacred geography that culminates in praising Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.