Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

यत्त्वया कथितं देव तलस्वामिमहोदयम् । किं तत्र कारणं देव तलो येन निपातितः

Transliteration

yattvayā kathitaṃ deva talasvāmimahodayam | kiṃ tatra kāraṇaṃ deva talo yena nipātitaḥ

Translation

О Господь, о том, что Ты поведал как о великом явлении Тала-свами: какова была там причина, о Дэва, по которой Тала был низвержен?

Word by Word

• यत्: that which
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्तिः (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचनम्

• कथितम्: was told
• कथितम्: Kriya (Passive predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया-एकवचनम्

• देव: O god
• देव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• तलस्वामिमहोदयम्: the great manifestation/glory of Tala-svāmin
• तलस्वामिमहोदयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तल (प्रातिपदिक) + स्वामिन् (प्रातिपदिक) + महोदय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (तलस्वामिनः महोदयः); पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• किम्: what?
• किम्: Karma (Interrogative object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; प्रश्नवाचक (interrogative)

• तत्र: there, in that matter
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative setting/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक/adverb of place)

• कारणम्: cause, reason
• कारणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• देव: O god
• देव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• तलः: Tala (person/entity)
• तलः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• येन: by whom/whereby
• येन: Karana (Instrument/Agent/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-विभक्तिः (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचनम्; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative)

• निपातितः: was made to fall / was cast down
• निपातितः: Kriya (Passive predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-पत् (धातु) + णिच् (causative) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: णिजन्त-धातोः भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (causative past passive participle), पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-एकवचनम्; ‘निपातित’ = ‘अधः पातित/प्रपातित’

Speaker

Questioner (as per transmitted text: Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tala-svāmi (topic); Prabhāsa-kṣetra (frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Īśvara (to respond)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī points inquisitively toward a symbolic ‘tala’ (a subterranean realm or a fallen pillar/being), while Śiva prepares to narrate; visual hint of a liṅga titled Tala-svāmi emerging from earth or near a hot-water source (taptodaka) as foreshadowing.

Characters & Entities

• Tala-svāmi
• Tala

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Māhātmyas often ground sacred sites in moral-causal stories, linking divine glory with ethical consequence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Tala-svāmi’s sacred context within Prabhāsa Kṣetra; the detailed tīrtha identification follows in the narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it requests the backstory that will justify the site’s sanctity.