Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । तस्मिन्स्थाने महादेवि स्मशानं कालभैरवम् । ब्रह्मकुण्डं वरारोहे यावद्देवः कृतस्मरः

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tasminsthāne mahādevi smaśānaṃ kālabhairavam | brahmakuṇḍaṃ varārohe yāvaddevaḥ kṛtasmaraḥ

Translation

อีศวรตรัสว่า: ณ สถานที่นั้นเอง โอ้มหาเทวี—โอ้ผู้มีสะโพกงาม—มีป่าช้ากาลไภรวะและพรหมกุณฑะ อยู่จนถึงขอบเขตที่เทวะกฤตสมระแผ่ไป (คือภายในเขตศักดิ์สิทธิ์นั้น)

Word by Word

• ईश्वरः: Īśvara
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Speech-act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुल्लिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/locative) एकवचन

• स्थाने: place
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन

• महादेवि: O Mahādevī
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (vocative) एकवचन

• श्मशानम्: cremation-ground
• श्मशानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन

• कालभैरवम्: (called) Kālabhairava
• कालभैरवम्: Karma (Appositive/कर्म-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक) + भैरव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; ‘श्मशानम्’ विशेषण/नाम

• ब्रह्मकुण्डम्: Brahma-pond
• ब्रह्मकुण्डम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + कुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (ब्रह्मणः कुण्डम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन

• वरारोहे: O fair-thighed one
• वरारोहे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरा (प्रातिपदिक) + आरोह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (वरम् आरोहः यस्याः—सुन्दरजङ्घा); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचन

• यावत्: until / as long as
• यावत्: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधिवाचक (until/as long as)

• देवः: the god
• देवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन

• कृतस्मरः: Kṛtasmara (name/epithet)
• कृतस्मरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत (कृ धातु + क्त) + स्मर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कृतः स्मरः यस्य/कृतस्मरः); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kālabhairava-smāśāna and Brahmakuṇḍa (within Kṛtasmara precinct)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred cremation-ground under Kālabhairava’s protection: ash-smeared ground, śmaśāna trees, a nearby serene Brahmakuṇḍa with clear water; boundary markers indicating the extent up to Kṛtasmara; Śiva speaks to Devī, pointing out the sites.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī (Devī)
• Kālabhairava
• Śmaśāna
• Brahmakuṇḍa
• Kṛtasmara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even liminal spaces like śmaśāna become liberating tīrthas when sanctified by divine presence and remembrance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Brahmakuṇḍa and the Kālabhairava śmaśāna within the Kṛtasmara sacred area in Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite here; it introduces the sites that will be praised.