Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

ततोऽहं क्षुधयाविष्टः प्रभासं क्षेत्रमास्थितः । अथापश्यं सरः शुभ्रं हरिणीमूलसंस्थितम्

Transliteration

tato'haṃ kṣudhayāviṣṭaḥ prabhāsaṃ kṣetramāsthitaḥ | athāpaśyaṃ saraḥ śubhraṃ hariṇīmūlasaṃsthitam

Translation

అప్పుడు ఆకలితో బాధపడుతూ నేను ప్రభాస అనే పవిత్ర క్షేత్రంలో నివసించడానికి వచ్చాను. అక్కడ హరিণీ (మృగి) మూలానికి సమీపంగా ఉన్న ఒక ప్రకాశవంతమైన సరస్సును చూశాను.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, तस्मात्/अनन्तरार्थक (adverb: then/from there)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• kṣudhayā: by hunger
• kṣudhayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣudh (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• āviṣṭaḥ: afflicted; seized
• āviṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-viś (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• prabhāsam: Prabhāsa
• prabhāsam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• kṣetram: the sacred field; region
• kṣetram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• āsthitaḥ: having reached; having resorted to
• āsthitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अनन्तरार्थक (particle: then)

• apaśyam: I saw
• apaśyam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• saraḥ: a lake
• saraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• śubhram: bright; white
• śubhram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubhra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• hariṇī-mūla-saṃsthitam: situated at the root/base of a doe (hariṇī) (i.e., near a deer’s haunt)
• hariṇī-mūla-saṃsthitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hariṇī + mūla + saṃsthita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

King (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (lake within it; later named)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A hungry traveler with his wife enters Prabhāsa’s sacred terrain; amid dry surroundings a luminous lake appears near a tree-root or thicket associated with a doe; the water surface shines.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Lake (saras)
• Harinī (doe/deer)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In distress, turning toward a tīrtha becomes a doorway to purification and divine support.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, with a particular sacred lake introduced as part of the holy landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not yet explicit; the verse sets up the sacred water context that culminates in bathing and offerings.