Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

षोडशैव कला यास्ता गोपीरूपा वरानने । एकैकशस्ताः संभिन्नाः सहस्रेण पृथक्पृथक्

Transliteration

ṣoḍaśaiva kalā yāstā gopīrūpā varānane | ekaikaśastāḥ saṃbhinnāḥ sahasreṇa pṛthakpṛthak

Translation

โอ้ผู้มีพักตร์งาม กาลาทั้งสิบหกนั้นแลปรากฏเป็นรูปแห่งเหล่าโคปี แต่ละกาลาแยกย่อยออกไปเป็นพัน ๆ ประการ ต่างกันไปโดยสิ้นเชิง

Word by Word

• षोडश: sixteen
• षोडश: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षोडशन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-विशेषणम्; (अत्र) स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनानुगुणम्

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis)

• कलाः: digits/phases
• कलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• याः: which
• याः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative)

• ताः: those
• ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• गोपीरूपाः: in the form of gopīs
• गोपीरूपाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गोपी + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (गोपीरूपम्); स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• वरानने: O fair-faced one
• वरानने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समासः (वरम् आननम् यस्याः); स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• एकैकशः: one by one
• एकैकशः: Adhikarana (Adverbial/अधिकरण-भाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एक + एक + शस् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभावः; क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb)

• ताः: they (those)
• ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• संभिन्नाः: are divided/separated
• संभिन्नाः: Karma (Predicate in passive/कर्मणि विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+भिद् (धातु) → संभिन्न (कृदन्त-भूतकर्मणि)
• Form: कृदन्तः (PPP), कर्मणि-प्रयोगे; स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्

• सहस्रेण: by a thousand (into a thousand)
• सहस्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचनम्

• पृथक्: separately
• पृथक्: Adhikarana (Adverbial/अधिकरण-भाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb)

• पृथक्: each separately
• पृथक्: Adhikarana (Adverbial/अधिकरण-भाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; पुनरुक्ति (reduplication for emphasis)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as 'devi', 'varānane')

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary tableau: sixteen luminous lunar phases personified as gopīs, each radiating into countless distinct forms, like a mandala of devotion expanding into infinity.

Characters & Entities

• Gopīs
• Kalā (sixteen phases)
• Devī (addressed as Varānane)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine power is both one and many: a small canonical set (sixteen) can unfold into vast multiplicity, supporting expansive devotional imagination.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs within Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya, though it primarily elaborates the Gopī-kalā doctrine.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicit; it frames a theology useful for meditation and devotional recitation.