Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

पंचमोऽभूद्यदा ब्रह्मा सुरज्येष्ठ इति स्मृतः । कृत्तिवासेति देवस्य नाम प्रोक्तं तदाम्बिके

Transliteration

paṃcamo'bhūdyadā brahmā surajyeṣṭha iti smṛtaḥ | kṛttivāseti devasya nāma proktaṃ tadāmbike

Translation

ପଞ୍ଚମ କଳ୍ପରେ, ବ୍ରହ୍ମା ‘ସୁରଜ୍ୟେଷ୍ଠ’ ବୋଲି ସ୍ମୃତ ଥିବାବେଳେ, ହେ ଅମ୍ବିକେ, ଦେବଙ୍କ ନାମ ‘କୃତ୍ତିବାସ’ ବୋଲି ପ୍ରକାଶିତ ହେଲା।

Word by Word

• paṃcamaḥ: the fifth
• paṃcamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paṃcama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• abhūt: became/was
• abhūt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: लङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• yadā: when
• yadā: Sambandha (Temporal link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• surajyeṣṭhaḥ: Surajyeṣṭha (chief among gods)
• surajyeṣṭhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surajyeṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक: sura + jyeṣṭha)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (surāṇāṃ jyeṣṭhaḥ = chief of the gods)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणार्थक-अव्यय

• smṛtaḥ: was remembered/known
• smṛtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (स्मृ धातु) + ta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणरूपेण (remembered/known as)

• kṛttivāsa: Kṛttivāsa
• kṛttivāsa: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛttivāsa (प्रातिपदिक: kṛtti + vāsa)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (kṛttau vāsaḥ = one whose garment is skin)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणार्थक-अव्यय

• devasya: of the deity
• devasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• nāma: as the name
• nāma: Visheshaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; नामनिर्देशे

• proktam: was declared
• proktam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच् धातु) + pra + ta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि (was declared)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Sambandha (Temporal link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय

• ambike: O Ambikā
• ambike: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ambikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (addressing Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa Kṣetra (Somnātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ambikā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The fifth cycle: Brahmā as Surajyeṣṭha; Śiva at Prabhāsa is hailed as Kṛttivāsa—an austere lord, hide-clad, ash-smeared, with matted locks, standing beside the Somnātha liṅga as waves crash in the distance.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Pārvatī (Ambikā)
• Brahmā (Surajyeṣṭha)
• Kṛttivāsa
• Somanātha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s ascetic epithet points to renunciation and inner detachment as a path to purity and power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the Lord is praised as Kṛttivāsa in this enumerated cycle.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a doctrinal listing of names tied to the kṣetra.