Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि ऋषयश्चोर्द्धरेतसः । वर्षायुतं तपस्तप्त्वा सिद्धिं जग्मुस्तदात्मिकाम्

Transliteration

aṣṭāśītisahasrāṇi ṛṣayaścorddharetasaḥ | varṣāyutaṃ tapastaptvā siddhiṃ jagmustadātmikām

Translation

Восемьдесят восемь тысяч риши, храня брахмачарью, совершали тапас десять тысяч лет и достигли той самой сиддхи (совершенства) такой природы.

Word by Word

• अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि: eighty-eight thousand
• अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टा-शीति-सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; संख्यासमास (द्विगु): ‘अष्टाशीति-सहस्र’ = 88,000

• ऋषयः: sages
• ऋषयः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

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

• ऊर्ध्वरेतसः: of restrained/upraised semen (continent)
• ऊर्ध्वरेतसः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्ध्व-रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिसमास, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ऋषयः इति विशेष्येण सह

• वर्षायुतम्: ten thousand years
• वर्षायुतम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष-आयुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कालपरिमाणवाचक; ‘वर्षाणाम् आयुतम्’ (10,000 years)

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन (कर्मरूपेण)

• तप्त्वा: having performed (austerity)
• तप्त्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘तप्’ धातोः; पूर्वकर्म-निर्देशक

• सिद्धिम्: attainment, perfection
• सिद्धिम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• जग्मुः: they attained/went to
• जग्मुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपदी, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• तदात्मिकाम्: of that nature
• तदात्मिकाम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद्-आत्मिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सिद्धिम् इति विशेष्येण सह; ‘तस्य आत्मा/स्वरूपं यस्याः’ इत्यर्थे

Speaker

Narrator (likely Skanda) addressing Devī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (cave-associated siddhi-bhūmi)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vast assembly of ascetics—88,000—seated in disciplined rows near a cave shrine, bodies lean, faces serene; the passage of time suggested by layered skies and cyclical motifs, culminating in a luminous ‘siddhi’ aura rising from their tapas.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis
• Tapas
• Siddhi
• Prabhāsa Kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Great attainments arise from sustained austerity, and tīrthas are portrayed as proven grounds of siddhi for generations of sages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, as the setting for massive, long-term ṛṣi-austerities.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) with continence (ūrdhvaretas) over an extended period, presented as an ideal of ascetic observance.