Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

तत्र देवो लयं याति हरिर्जन्मनिजन्मनि । स वासुदेवः सूक्ष्मात्मा परात्परतरे स्थितः

Transliteration

tatra devo layaṃ yāti harirjanmanijanmani | sa vāsudevaḥ sūkṣmātmā parātparatare sthitaḥ

Translation

ณ ที่นั้น พระหริ—องค์พระผู้เป็นเจ้า—เสด็จเข้าสู่ความลายดับครั้งแล้วครั้งเล่า ในชาติแล้วชาติเล่า พระวาสุเทวะนั้น ผู้มีอาตมันอันละเอียด ประทับอยู่ในภาวะที่ยิ่งกว่าความยิ่งยวดเสียอีก

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• देवः: the god
• देवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• लयम्: dissolution/absorption
• लयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• याति: goes/attains
• याति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• हरिः: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• जन्मनि: in (each) birth
• जन्मनि: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• जन्मनि: in birth (again)
• जन्मनि: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोग (iteration)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वासुदेवः: Vāsudeva
• वासुदेवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासुदेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• सूक्ष्मात्मा: the subtle self
• सूक्ष्मात्मा: Kriya (Predicate nominal/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूक्ष्म (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (सूक्ष्मः आत्मा)

• परात्: beyond/than the supreme
• परात्: Apadana (Ablative of comparison/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; तुलनार्थे ‘than the beyond/supreme’

• परतरे: in the still higher (state)
• परतरे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; तरप्-प्रत्यय (comparative) ‘more supreme’; अधिकरणे

• स्थितः: abides
• स्थितः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि/भावे कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘is situated/abides’

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from Śiva–Pārvatī address in surrounding verses)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (as laya-smṛti-sthāna)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A mystical Prabhāsa landscape at twilight: waves darken, stars emerge; Hari as a subtle luminous presence dissolves into an infinite expanse, suggesting cyclical births and reabsorption; pilgrims watch in awe and silence.

Characters & Entities

• Hari
• Vāsudeva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha is framed as a gateway to ultimate transcendence, where the Lord is contemplated as the subtlest Self beyond all gradations of reality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, presented as a locus of profound metaphysical ‘merging’ (laya) and divine presence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is stated; the verse emphasizes contemplation of Vāsudeva’s transcendent nature associated with the place.