Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

वैष्णवे कोटिरेका तु तीर्थानां वरवर्णिनि । सार्द्धकोटिस्तु संप्रोक्ता रुद्रभागे च मध्यतः

Transliteration

vaiṣṇave koṭirekā tu tīrthānāṃ varavarṇini | sārddhakoṭistu saṃproktā rudrabhāge ca madhyataḥ

Translation

โอ้เทวีผู้มีผิวพรรณงาม ในภาคไวษณวะกล่าวว่ามีทีรถะหนึ่งโกฏิและยิ่งกว่านั้น ส่วนในภาครุทระ ณ แดนกลาง ประกาศว่ามีหนึ่งโกฏิครึ่ง

Word by Word

• वैष्णवे: in the Vaiṣṇava (portion)
• वैष्णवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैष्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन — Masculine, Locative singular; विशेषण (qualifying भागे—elliptic)

• कोटि-एका: one crore
• कोटि-एका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative singular; कर्मधारय (एका कोटिः)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विशेषार्थक-निपात (particle)

• तीर्थानाम्: of the pilgrimage places
• तीर्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन — Neuter, Genitive plural

• वरवर्णिनि: O fair-complexioned one
• वरवर्णिनि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरवर्णिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन — Feminine, Vocative singular; कर्मधारय (वरः वर्णः यस्याः सा) संबोधन (addressing Devī)

• सार्द्ध-कोटिः: one and a half crores
• सार्द्ध-कोटिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सार्द्ध (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative singular; अव्ययीभाव (सार्द्धम् कोटिः = ‘a crore and a half’)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विशेषार्थक-निपात (particle)

• संप्रोक्ता: is declared, is stated
• संप्रोक्ता: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + प्र + वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative singular; (सार्द्धकोटिः) ‘is declared’

• रुद्रभागे: in the Rudra-portion
• रुद्रभागे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन — Masculine, Locative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (रुद्रस्य भागः)

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

• मध्यतः: in the middle
• मध्यतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मध्यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: स्थानवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘in the middle/from the middle’)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced: addressing Devī with vocatives like devi/śubhe/varānane in this adhyāya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Vaiṣṇava-bhāga; Rudra-bhāga)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as varavarṇinī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tripartite kṣetra diagram: Vaiṣṇava sector filled with conch-disc banners and many small shrines; central Rudra sector denser, marked by tridents and liṅgas; pilgrims moving from periphery to center.

Characters & Entities

• Vaiṣṇava (division)
• Rudra (division)
• Tīrthas
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prabhāsa is portrayed as a vast sacred landscape where innumerable tīrthas concentrate spiritual merit, urging pilgrimage and reverence for holy geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra as a whole is glorified, especially its internal Vaiṣṇava and Rudra divisions rich in tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse primarily enumerates the abundance of tīrthas across Prabhāsa’s divisions.