Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

ततो यज्ञवराहोऽसौ कृत्वा यज्ञमयं वपुः । उद्दधार महीं कृत्स्नां दंष्ट्राग्रेण वरानने

Transliteration

tato yajñavarāho'sau kṛtvā yajñamayaṃ vapuḥ | uddadhāra mahīṃ kṛtsnāṃ daṃṣṭrāgreṇa varānane

Translation

అప్పుడు ఆ యజ్ఞ-వరాహుడు యజ్ఞమయమైన దేహాన్ని ధరించి, హే సుందరముఖీ! తన దంష్ట్రాగ్రంపై సమస్త భూమిని పైకి ఎత్తెను।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययम्; कालवाचक-क्रियाविशेषणम् (indeclinable; temporal adverb)

• yajña-varāhaḥ: the sacrificial boar (Varāha)
• yajña-varāhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña + varāha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masculine, nominative, singular)

• asau: that one (he)
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asau (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (masculine, nominative, singular; pronoun)

• kṛtvā: having made/assumed
• kṛtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययम् (gerund/absolutive)

• yajña-mayam: consisting of sacrifice
• yajña-mayam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yajña + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (neuter, accusative, singular; adjective)

• vapuḥ: body; form
• vapuḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vapus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, accusative, singular)

• uddadhāra: lifted up
• uddadhāra: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud + dhṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परिपूर्णभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (perfect, parasmaipada, 3rd person singular)

• mahīm: the Earth
• mahīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (feminine, accusative, singular)

• kṛtsnām: entire
• kṛtsnām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛtsna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (feminine, accusative, singular; adjective)

• daṃṣṭrā-agreṇa: with the tip of (his) tusk
• daṃṣṭrā-agreṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṃṣṭrā + agra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन (neuter, instrumental, singular)

• vara-ānane: O fair-faced one
• vara-ānane: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (सम्बोधनार्थे/अधिकरण), एकवचन; सम्बोधन-प्रयोगः (locative used as vocative; address)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kardamālā (linked via Varāha-uddhāra origin frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yajña-Varāha rises from the cosmic waters, Earth poised on the tip of his tusk; the scene radiates sacrificial symbolism—his body as yajña itself.

Characters & Entities

• Yajñavarāha
• Mahī (Earth)
• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma (yajña) is portrayed as the sustaining power that restores the world; the divine acts through sacrificial order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly, Prabhāsa Kṣetra’s tīrtha tradition is linked to Varāha’s act of raising the Earth.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is commanded, but yajña is upheld as the cosmic principle embodied by Yajñavarāha.