Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

यः सव्यपाणिकमलाग्रनखेन देवस्तत्पंचमं च सहसैव पुरातिरुष्टः । ब्राह्मं शिरस्तरुणपद्मनिभं चकर्त तं शंकरं शरणदं शरणं व्रजामि

Transliteration

yaḥ savyapāṇikamalāgranakhena devastatpaṃcamaṃ ca sahasaiva purātiruṣṭaḥ | brāhmaṃ śirastaruṇapadmanibhaṃ cakarta taṃ śaṃkaraṃ śaraṇadaṃ śaraṇaṃ vrajāmi

Translation

O Deus que, outrora irado, com a ponta da unha de sua mão esquerda, semelhante ao lótus, de pronto cortou aquele “quinto”—a cabeça semelhante à de Brahmā, como um lótus tenro—nesse Śaṅkara, doador de refúgio, eu me abrigo.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• savya-pāṇi-kamala-agra-nakhena: with the nail at the tip of the lotus-like left hand
• savya-pāṇi-kamala-agra-nakhena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: savya (प्रातिपदिक) + pāṇi (प्रातिपदिक) + kamala (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक) + nakha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी/संबन्ध-प्रधानः): 'सव्यपाणेः कमलस्य अग्रे नखः' इत्यर्थः

• devaḥ: the god
• devaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• tat-paṃcamam: that fifth (head)
• tat-paṃcamam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम) + pañcama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (कर्मधारय-भावः): 'तत् एव पञ्चमम्'

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• sahasā: suddenly, forcefully
• sahasā: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasā (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (particle of emphasis)

• purā: formerly
• purā: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• tiruṣṭaḥ: greatly enraged
• tiruṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tiruṣṭa (कृदन्त; √ruṣ (रुष्) + ति-उपसर्ग/तीव्रता-प्रत्यय-प्रयोगः)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त-विशेषण (past participial adjective): 'अतिरुष्टः/अत्यन्तं क्रुद्धः'

• brāhmam: of Brahmā
• brāhmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brāhma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of śiras)

• śiraḥ: head
• śiraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• taruṇa-padma-nibham: like a fresh lotus
• taruṇa-padma-nibham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: taruṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + padma (प्रातिपदिक) + nibha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः: 'तरुणपद्म इव निभम्'

• cakarta: cut off / did
• cakarta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• śaṃkaram: Śaṅkara
• śaṃkaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• śaraṇa-dam: giver of refuge
• śaraṇa-dam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + da (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √dā (दा) दानार्थे)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (उपपद-समासः): 'शरणं ददाति' इति

• śaraṇam: refuge
• śaraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• vrajāmi: I go (for refuge)
• vrajāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vraj (व्रज्)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Dhruva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva, suddenly wrathful, raises his lotus-like left hand; with the nail-tip he severs Brahmā’s ‘fifth’ head, lotus-fresh in hue; the act is swift, symbolic, and awe-inducing.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Brahmā (implied by brāhmaṃ śiraḥ)
• Pañcama-śiras (fifth head motif)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine power curbs even cosmic pride; Śiva is praised as the enforcer of dharma and the refuge for those who surrender.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya stotra sequence, indirectly magnifying Prabhāsa as a place where such Śiva-bhakti is taught.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicit; the devotional act is remembrance and recitation of Śiva’s līlā through stotra.