Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

यत्र साक्षात्स्वयं देवि तिष्ठते पुरुषोत्तमः । तदेव वैष्णवं क्षेत्रं कलौ पातकनाशनम्

Transliteration

yatra sākṣātsvayaṃ devi tiṣṭhate puruṣottamaḥ | tadeva vaiṣṇavaṃ kṣetraṃ kalau pātakanāśanam

Translation

హే దేవీ, యెక్కడ సాక్షాత్తుగా స్వయంగా పురుషోత్తముడు నివసించుచున్నాడో—అదే వైష్ణవ క్షేత్రం; కలియుగంలో పాపనాశకము।

Word by Word

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक-अव्यय), ‘where’ (relative adverb)

• sākṣāt: directly, in person
• sākṣāt: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sākṣāt (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण), ‘directly/in person’

• svayam: himself
• svayam: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (स्वार्थक), ‘oneself’

• devi: O Goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; vocative address

• tiṣṭhate: stands, abides
• tiṣṭhate: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धाातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• puruṣottamaḥ: the Supreme Person
• puruṣottamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘puruṣāṇām uttamaḥ’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• eva: indeed, only
• eva: Nipata (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चयार्थक/अवधारण), emphatic particle

• vaiṣṇavam: Vaiṣṇava, pertaining to Viṣṇu
• vaiṣṇavam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaiṣṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying kṣetram)

• kṣetram: sacred field/place
• kṣetram: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• kalau: in the Kali age
• kalau: Adhikarana (Location/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; ‘in Kali (age)’

• pātakanāśanam: destroyer of sins
• pātakanāśanam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pātaka (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘pātakānāṃ nāśanam’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष), विशेषणम् (of kṣetram)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Puruṣottama-kṣetra (Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The sacred region shines as a Vaiṣṇava kṣetra because Puruṣottama is said to dwell there in person; the landscape itself becomes a living icon, promising Kali-yuga purification.

Characters & Entities

• Puruṣottama (Viṣṇu)
• Kali-yuga
• Vaiṣṇava-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In Kali-yuga, divine presence at a tīrtha is emphasized as an accessible remedy: sincere approach to the kṣetra is said to dissolve sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Vaiṣṇava Puruṣottama-kṣetra within Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse proclaims the kṣetra’s Kali-yuga efficacy for pātaka-nāśa.