Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

प्रभासं क्षेत्रमासाद्य नदीतीरे व्यवस्थिताः । दाक्षिणात्या महादेवि कृष्णवर्णा विरूपकाः

Transliteration

prabhāsaṃ kṣetramāsādya nadītīre vyavasthitāḥ | dākṣiṇātyā mahādevi kṛṣṇavarṇā virūpakāḥ

Translation

ప్రభాస పుణ్యక్షేత్రాన్ని చేరి వారు నదీ తీరంలో నిలిచారు. హే మహాదేవీ, దక్షిణదేశీయ ఆ మునులు కృష్ణవర్ణులు, విరూపులు.

Word by Word

• prabhāsam: Prabhāsa
• prabhāsam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāsa (प्रातिपदिक; क्षेत्र-नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; गत्यर्थक-क्रियायाः कर्म (object with ‘āsādya’)

• kṣetram: the sacred place/field
• kṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; prabhāsam इत्यस्य विशेष्य (apposition: ‘the sacred field’)

• āsādya: having reached
• āsādya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-sad (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund/absolutive), ‘having reached/approached’

• nadītīre: on the riverbank
• nadītīre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī-tīra (प्रातिपदिक; नदी + तीर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरणम् (on the riverbank)

• vyavasthitāḥ: stood/settled
• vyavasthitāḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ava-sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्तरि (stood/settled)

• dākṣiṇātyāḥ: southern (from the south)
• dākṣiṇātyāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dākṣiṇātya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन; (दाक्षिणात्याः = दक्षिणदेशीयाः) व्यासंगत-विशेषणम्; महर्षयः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• kṛṣṇavarṇāḥ: dark-complexioned
• kṛṣṇavarṇāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛṣṇa-varṇa (प्रातिपदिक; कृष्ण + वर्ण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन; महर्षयः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• virūpakāḥ: ugly/deformed
• virūpakāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-rūpaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन; महर्षयः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa Kṣetra
• Devī (Pārvatī)
• Southern sages (Dākṣiṇātya Maharṣis)
• Riverbank

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha’s greatness is shown through transformation narratives: even those with perceived deficiencies become uplifted through sacred contact.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra on a riverbank (contextually the Piṅgalī river section).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly here; it sets the narrative scene for the forthcoming tīrtha-effect (snāna and transformation).