Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

संतप्य तु महाघोरं तपोवर्षसहस्रकम् । संप्रसाद्य विरूपाक्षं योऽवाप ग्रहतां सुधीः

Transliteration

saṃtapya tu mahāghoraṃ tapovarṣasahasrakam | saṃprasādya virūpākṣaṃ yo'vāpa grahatāṃ sudhīḥ

Translation

ਅਤਿ ਭਿਆਨਕ ਤਪ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਵਰ੍ਹਿਆਂ ਤੱਕ ਤਪੱਸਿਆ ਕੀਤੀ; ਅਤੇ ਵਿਰੂਪਾਖ਼ਸ਼ (ਸ਼ਿਵ) ਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਸੰਨ ਕਰਕੇ, ਉਸ ਬੁੱਧਿਮਾਨ ਨੇ ਗ੍ਰਹਤਾ ਦਾ ਪਦ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਕੀਤਾ।

Word by Word

• संतप्य: having undergone (austerity)
• संतप्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + तप् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund/absolutive): ‘having performed austerity/tormented oneself’

• तु: and/indeed
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• महाघोरम्: very terrible
• महाघोरम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाघोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमास (महान् घोरः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (agreeing with ‘तपः…’)

• तपोवर्षसहस्रकम्: a thousand years of austerity
• तपोवर्षसहस्रकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्रक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-श्रृंखला: तपसः वर्षाणि; तेषां सहस्रकम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• संप्रसाद्य: having propitiated
• संप्रसाद्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + प्र + सद् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund): ‘having propitiated/pleased’

• विरूपाक्षम्: Virūpākṣa (Śiva)
• विरूपाक्षम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विरूपाक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिसमास (विरूपे अक्षिणी यस्य = ‘one with strange/varied eyes’, epithet of Śiva); पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अवाप: obtained
• अवाप: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• ग्रहताम्: the status of a planet
• ग्रहताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रहता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन (अर्थे: ‘ग्रहत्वम्’—state/position of a ग्रह)

• सुधीः: the wise one
• सुधीः: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुधी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śukra-tapas-sthāna (within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śukra performing fierce austerities for a thousand years, emaciated yet radiant; Virūpākṣa (Śiva) appears, granting grace; a celestial motif indicates Śukra’s elevation to graha-status.

Characters & Entities

• Virūpākṣa (Śiva)
• Śukra
• Graha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Persistent tapas combined with devotion to Śiva is presented as the cause of elevated cosmic status and spiritual attainment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Prabhāsakṣetra shrine-context where Śukra’s Śaiva devotion and its results are remembered.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) and propitiation of Śiva (Virūpākṣa) are highlighted as the means.