Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

रुक्मिण्याः पूर्वतश्चैव तप्ततोयाच्च पश्चिमे । पूर्वपश्चिममानोऽयं प्रभासस्य प्रकीर्त्तितः

Transliteration

rukmiṇyāḥ pūrvataścaiva taptatoyācca paścime | pūrvapaścimamāno'yaṃ prabhāsasya prakīrttitaḥ

Translation

ทิศตะวันออกมีทีรถะแห่งรุกมินี และทิศตะวันตกมีทีรถะชื่อทัปตโตยะ ดังนี้จึงประกาศขอบเขตตะวันออก–ตะวันตกของปรภาสะ

Word by Word

• rukmiṇyāḥ: from/of Rukmiṇī (place/temple)
• rukmiṇyāḥ: Apadana/Reference (Ablative sense/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rukmiṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी/पञ्चमी (6th/5th Gen/Abl), एकवचन (Singular)

• pūrvataḥ: on the eastern side
• pūrvataḥ: Adhikarana/Directional (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrvataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (directional adverb: 'to the east/from the east side')

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphasis)

• taptatoyāt: from Taptatoya (hot-water spring/place)
• taptatoyāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapta + toya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (tapta-toya = 'hot water')

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

• paścime: in the west
• paścime: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paścima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); दिक्शब्द-प्रयोग (in the west)

• pūrvapaścimamānaḥ: the east-to-west extent
• pūrvapaścimamānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūrva + paścima + māna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); दिक्-द्वन्द्व (pūrva-paścima = east-west) + māna ('measure/extent')

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम

• prabhāsasya: of Prabhāsa
• prabhāsasya: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठī-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• prakīrttitaḥ: is proclaimed/declared
• prakīrttitaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-kīrt (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थ ('is proclaimed')

Speaker

Śiva (addressing Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (east–west between Rukmiṇī and Taptatoya)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A horizontal sacred panorama: eastern side marked by a shrine or waterbody named Rukmiṇī; western side marked by a steaming/‘hot-water’ tīrtha named Taptatoya; the Prabhāsa field stretches between them with pilgrims traversing.

Characters & Entities

• Rukmiṇī-tīrtha
• Taptatoya-tīrtha
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are not random; their divinely stated boundaries guide pilgrimage with reverence and precision.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, defined between Rukmiṇī-tīrtha (east) and Taptatoya-tīrtha (west).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; the verse provides tīrtha-boundary knowledge for proper pilgrimage.