Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

अथ गाथा पुरी गीता अगस्त्येन महात्मना । स्मरता पूर्वदेहं तु विस्मयेनानुभूतिजा

Transliteration

atha gāthā purī gītā agastyena mahātmanā | smaratā pūrvadehaṃ tu vismayenānubhūtijā

Translation

ਫਿਰ ਮਹਾਤਮਾ ਅਗਸਤ੍ਯ ਨੇ, ਆਪਣੇ ਪੂਰਵ ਦੇਹ ਨੂੰ ਯਾਦ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ, ਅਚੰਭੇ ਅਤੇ ਅੰਤਰ ਅਨੁਭਵ ਤੋਂ ਉਪਜੀ ਇੱਕ ਪੂਰੀ ਗਾਥਾ ਗਾਈ।

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (then/now)

• गाथा: a verse/song
• गाथा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गाथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पुरी: (in/for) the city
• पुरी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘city’ (गाथा-विशेषणरूपेण/उपपद)

• गीता: sung
• गीता: Karta (Predicate/कर्तृ-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गै (धातु) → गीत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; गाथा-विशेषणम्

• अगस्त्येन: by Agastya
• अगस्त्येन: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अगस्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण/कर्तृ), एकवचन

• महात्मना: by the great-souled (one)
• महात्मना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (अगस्त्येन)

• स्मरता: while remembering
• स्मरता: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) → स्मरत् (शतृ-कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (शतृ), तृतीया, एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग; ‘while remembering’

• पूर्वदेहम्: the former body
• पूर्वदेहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व + देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (पूर्वः देहः), पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोधसूचक (but/indeed)

• विस्मयेन: with wonder
• विस्मयेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विस्मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• अनुभूतिजा: born of experience/realization
• अनुभूतिजा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुभूति + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (अनुभूतितः जाता), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; गाथा-विशेषणम्

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (narrating about Agastya; contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (as remembered cause)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Agastya, seated in calm posture with kamaṇḍalu and staff, eyes half-closed; a translucent overlay shows a parrot-nest in a temple cornice—his past-life memory—while he sings a gāthā in astonished devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual maturity can awaken memory and insight, turning personal realization into sacred utterance (gāthā).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, as the setting of the māhātmya that leads to Agastya’s remembered realization.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it introduces Agastya’s utterance that follows from remembered spiritual experience.