Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि पर्णादित्यं सुरेश्वरम् । प्राचीसरस्वतीकूले तटे चोत्तरतः स्थितम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi parṇādityaṃ sureśvaram | prācīsarasvatīkūle taṭe cottarataḥ sthitam

Translation

ఈశ్వరుడు పలికెను—తదుపరి, ఓ మహాదేవీ, ప్రాచీ-సరస్వతి ఉత్తర తీరంలో ఉన్న దేవేశ్వరుడు పర్ణాదిత్యుని దర్శించుటకు వెళ్లవలెను.

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (the Lord)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन = masculine nominative singular

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन = said

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = thereafter

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन = should go

• mahādevi: O Mahādevī
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचन; कर्मधारय = vocative ‘O great goddess/lady’

• parṇādityam: Parṇāditya (name of a deity)
• parṇādityam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + āditya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (नामधेय) = accusative sg (object of ‘go’)

• sureśvaram: lord of the gods
• sureśvaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; तत्पुरुष = accusative sg, apposition to parṇādityam

• prācī-sarasvatī-kūle: on the bank of the eastern Sarasvatī
• prācī-sarasvatī-kūle: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prācī (प्रातिपदिक) + sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक) + kūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास = locative sg ‘on the bank of the eastern Sarasvatī’

• taṭe: on the bank
• taṭe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन = locative singular ‘on the bank’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) = and

• uttarataḥ: to the north
• uttarataḥ: Adhikarana (Directional/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: uttaratas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (दिक्/देशवाचक) = adverb ‘to the north/northwards’

• sthitam: situated
• sthitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (धातु) + sthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग द्वितीया एकवचन; PPP qualifying parṇādityam = ‘situated’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Parṇāditya

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Devī/Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Īśvara instructs Devī, pointing toward a riverbank where a small Aditya shrine stands amid sacred trees (parṇa foliage); the Sarasvatī flows eastward; pilgrims move along the northern bank toward the sun-temple.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Parṇāditya
• Sarasvatī (river)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is mapped as a dharmic journey: one is guided from tīrtha to tīrtha toward increasingly potent divine encounters.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Parṇāditya—identified as a sacred Sun-shrine/tīrtha on the northern bank of the Prācī Sarasvatī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Gamana/visitation: the instruction is to proceed to Parṇāditya as part of the tīrtha-yātrā.