Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

एकैकं वर्तते नाम ब्रह्मणः प्रलयावधि । ततोन्यज्जायते नाम यथा नामानुरूपतः

Transliteration

ekaikaṃ vartate nāma brahmaṇaḥ pralayāvadhi | tatonyajjāyate nāma yathā nāmānurūpataḥ

Translation

ବ୍ରହ୍ମାଙ୍କ ପ୍ରଳୟାନ୍ତ ପର୍ଯ୍ୟନ୍ତ ପ୍ରତ୍ୟେକ ନାମ ଏକେକରେ ଚାଲିଥାଏ; ତାପରେ ସେହି ନାମର ଅନୁରୂପ ଗୁଣ-ସ୍ୱଭାବ ଅନୁସାରେ ଅନ୍ୟ ନାମ ଉଦ୍ଭବିତ ହୁଏ।

Word by Word

• ekaikam: each one, one by one
• ekaikam: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; द्वन्द्वसमासः (one by one/each single)

• vartate: exists, continues
• vartate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛt (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदम्

• nāma: a name
• nāma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahmā / of Brahman
• brahmaṇaḥ: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचन

• pralayāvadhi: until the dissolution
• pralayāvadhi: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pralaya (प्रातिपदिक) + avadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; क्रियाविशेषणम् (up to dissolution)

• tataḥ: thereafter, from that
• tataḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अपादानार्थक/क्रमवाचक अव्यय (from then/thereafter)

• anyat: another
• anyat: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘another’

• jāyate: is born, arises
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदम्

• nāma: a name
• nāma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन

• yathā: as, according to
• yathā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (as/according to)

• nāmānurūpataḥ: in accordance with the name
• nāmānurūpataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक) + anurūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तसिल्)
• Form: तसिलन्त अव्यय; समासः तत्पुरुषः (नाम्ना अनुरूपः) ‘in accordance with the name’

Speaker

Unnamed narrator within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic register: one sacred name glowing across a kalpa, then fading at pralaya as another name arises, each with a distinct emblem; Prabhāsa’s shore and temple remain as a steady anchor below.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Pralaya
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine epithets reflect cosmic functions across eras; devotion adapts, but the Lord remains the same reality behind all names.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, where cosmology and nāma-doctrine are woven into the site’s praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual; it implicitly encourages era-appropriate worship through the Lord’s prevailing name.