Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 139

Devanagari script

न हि पूर्वनिसर्गे वै विषमं पृथिवीतलम् । प्रविभागः पुराणां च ग्रामाणां चाथ विद्यते

Transliteration

na hi pūrvanisarge vai viṣamaṃ pṛthivītalam | pravibhāgaḥ purāṇāṃ ca grāmāṇāṃ cātha vidyate

Translation

Pois, na criação primordial, a superfície da terra não era irregular; e então não havia qualquer demarcação de cidades e aldeias.

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• हि: indeed; for
• हि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/कारणार्थक निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• पूर्वनिसर्गे: in the former creation
• पूर्वनिसर्गे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/Time setting)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + निसर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन (Singular); ‘पूर्वः निसर्गः’ (earlier creation)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/निश्चयार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• विषमम्: uneven
• विषमम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विषम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन (Singular); अत्र विधेयविशेषणम् (predicate adjective)

• पृथिवीतलम्: the surface of the earth
• पृथिवीतलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); ‘पृथिव्याः तलम्’

• प्रविभागः: division; demarcation
• प्रविभागः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्र+विभाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• पुराणाम्: of cities/towns
• पुराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• ग्रामाणाम्: of villages
• ग्रामाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• अथ: then; moreover
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तर/प्रसङ्गार्थक (then/now; discourse particle)

• विद्यते: exists; is found
• विद्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद; भावे प्रयोगः ‘exists’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) as narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A primordial, smooth earth-plane under vast sky; no cities, no villages, no roads—only an undivided landscape suggesting pre-human demarcation.

Characters & Entities

• Pṛthivī-tala (earth’s surface)
• Purā (town)
• Grāma (village)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human social structures arise later; dharma guides their formation so that settlement and division serve collective welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is embedded in the Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya, reinforcing Prabhāsa’s status as a witness to primordial and civilizational beginnings.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.