Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

जातः स्कन्दः सुरश्रेष्ठस्तारको येन सूदितः । पतितेनैव लिंगेन यस्माच्चैव कृतस्मरः

Transliteration

jātaḥ skandaḥ suraśreṣṭhastārako yena sūditaḥ | patitenaiva liṃgena yasmāccaiva kṛtasmaraḥ

Translation

ఈ పవిత్ర ఘటనవలన దేవశ్రేష్ఠుడైన స్కందుడు జన్మించాడు; అతడే తారకుణ్ణి సంహరించాడు. అలాగే లింగం పడిపోవడంవల్లనే కాముడు మళ్లీ స్మరణశక్తిని పొందీ ‘కృతస్మరుడు’ అయ్యెను; అందుకే ఈ స్థలం ‘కృతస్మర’గా ప్రసిద్ధి చెందెను।

Word by Word

• jātaḥ: was born
• jātaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/भूतकर्मणि), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• skandaḥ: Skanda
• skandaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• suraśreṣṭhaḥ: best of the gods
• suraśreṣṭhaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura-śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक; सुर + श्रेष्ठ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; (स्कन्दस्य विशेषणार्थे)

• tārakaḥ: Tāraka (demon)
• tārakaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• yena: by whom
• yena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• sūditaḥ: was slain
• sūditaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sūd (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/भूतकर्मणि), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• patitena: fallen
• patitena: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: patita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; विशेषण

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चय/अवधारण particle)

• liṅgena: by the liṅga
• liṅgena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• yasmāt: from which/whom
• yasmāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण particle)

• kṛtasmaraḥ: Kṛtasmar(a)
• kṛtasmaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta-smara (प्रातिपदिक; कृत + स्मर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Unspecified in this snippet (context continues within Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya; likely Īśvara/Śiva narrating to Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṛtasmara

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A twofold tableau: (1) the divine birth of Skanda as radiant child-warrior destined to slay Tāraka; (2) a sacred liṅga episode whose ‘falling’ becomes the sign by which Kāma’s remembrance/power returns, naming the place Kṛtasmara.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Tāraka
• Liṅga
• Smara (Kāma)
• Kṛtasmara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places preserve divine events; remembering them links devotees to Śiva’s power, Skanda’s victory, and the restoration of cosmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kṛtasmara in Prabhāsa-kṣetra, connected with the fallen liṅga and the re-manifestation of Smara (Kāma).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed in this verse; it provides the etymology and sacred history grounding later rites.