Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

तस्य किं वर्ण्यते देवि यत्रानन्तफलं महत् । अथमेधसहस्रस्य फलं स्नात्वा ह्यवाप्यते

Transliteration

tasya kiṃ varṇyate devi yatrānantaphalaṃ mahat | athamedhasahasrasya phalaṃ snātvā hyavāpyate

Translation

ข้าแต่เทวี จะพรรณนาสถานที่นั้นอย่างไรเล่า ที่ซึ่งผลบุญอันยิ่งใหญ่ไร้ที่สุด เพียงอาบน้ำศักดิ์สิทธิ์ที่นั่น ก็ได้บุญเทียบเท่าพิธีอัศวเมธะหนึ่งพันครั้ง

Word by Word

• tasya: of that (place)
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; ‘of it/of that’

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (Object, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; interrogative ‘what’

• varṇyate: can be described
• varṇyate: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: varṇ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘is described’

• devi: O Goddess
• devi: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक), ‘where’

• anantaphalam: endless fruit (reward)
• anantaphalam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ananta (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘anantaṃ phalam’ (कर्मधारय)

• mahat: great
• mahat: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of anantaphalam)

• athamedhasahasrasya: of a thousand Aśvamedha sacrifices
• athamedhasahasrasya: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśvamedha (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; ‘aśvamedhānāṃ sahasrasya’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• phalam: the fruit (result)
• phalam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya (Gerund; prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: snā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय; absolutive), ‘having bathed’

• hi: indeed
• hi: Nipata
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात; निश्चयार्थक)

• avāpyate: is obtained
• avāpyate: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-āp (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘is obtained’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (deduced from immediate context; explicit from v.16)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa tīrtha (contextual sub-tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims bathe at a luminous tīrtha in Prabhāsa while an unseen cosmic scale weighs their act equal to a thousand Aśvamedhas; sacrificial fires and horses appear as symbolic visions above the waters, emphasizing ‘yajña-tulya’ wonder.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Aśvamedha (sacrifice)
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A sacred place (tīrtha) can bestow inexhaustible merit when approached with faith, sometimes surpassing elaborate Vedic rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa), within the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa’s Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) at the tīrtha, praised as yielding immense puṇya.