Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

अत्रान्तरे तु देवेशि यानि तीर्थानि भूतले । वापीकूपतडागानि देवतायतनानि च

Transliteration

atrāntare tu deveśi yāni tīrthāni bhūtale | vāpīkūpataḍāgāni devatāyatanāni ca

Translation

தேவேசி! இந்த உள் பகுதியில் பூமியில் உள்ள எல்லாத் தீர்த்தங்களும்—வாபி, கிணறு, குளம், மேலும் தேவதைகளின் ஆலயங்கள்—அனைத்தும் இங்கேயே உள்ளன.

Word by Word

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• antare: within/in the interior
• antare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (neuter loc sg); अधिकरण

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrast/continuation particle)

• deveśi: O goddess (Deveśī)
• deveśi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deveśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन (voc sg); संबोधन

• yāni: which
• yāni: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध-विशेषण (relative pronoun, neut pl)

• tīrthāni: pilgrimage places/holy fords
• tīrthāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन (neuter nom/acc pl)

• bhūtale: on the earth/ground
• bhūtale: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūtala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (neuter loc sg)

• vāpī-kūpa-taḍāgāni: wells, ponds, and tanks
• vāpī-kūpa-taḍāgāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāpī (प्रातिपदिक) + kūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + taḍāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन (neuter nom/acc pl)

• devatā-āyatanāni: shrines/abodes of deities
• devatā-āyatanāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक) + āyatana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (devatānām āyatanāni)

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

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; vocative deveśi indicates address to a goddess interlocutor within the Mahatmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa garbhagṛha (cluster of wells/ponds/shrines)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Deveśi)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dense sacred landscape: stepwells, wells, ponds, and small shrines clustered within a luminous boundary; Devī listens as Śiva gestures to the multitude of tīrthas.

Characters & Entities

• Deveśī
• Tīrtha
• Vāpī
• Kūpa
• Taḍāga
• Devatāyatanas
• Prabhāsa inner region

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A mahā-kṣetra gathers many forms of sanctity—waters and temples—so that devotion can be practiced through multiple dharmic avenues.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The inner region (garbhagṛha) of Prabhāsa-kṣetra, celebrated as containing numerous tīrthas and deity-shrines.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly supports tīrtha-snān and temple-darśana by listing sacred waters and devatāyatanas, though no single vow is specified.