Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

चत्वारिंशत्सहस्राणि ऋषीणामूर्द्ध्वरेतसाम् । देविकातटमाश्रित्य जपंति शतरुद्रियम्

Transliteration

catvāriṃśatsahasrāṇi ṛṣīṇāmūrddhvaretasām | devikātaṭamāśritya japaṃti śatarudriyam

Translation

ฤๅษีสี่หมื่นรูป ผู้สำรวมพลังชีวิต (อูรธวเรตัส) อาศัยอยู่ ณ ฝั่งเทวีคา และสวดชปะ “ศตรุทรียะ”

Word by Word

• चत्वारिंशत्-सहस्राणि: forty thousand
• चत्वारिंशत्-सहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चत्वारिंशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन — Nominative plural; द्विगु-समास

• ऋषीणाम्: of sages
• ऋषीणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन — Genitive plural

• ऊर्द्ध्व-रेतसाम्: of the celibate (upward-semen) ones
• ऊर्द्ध्व-रेतसाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ऊर्द्ध्व (प्रातिपदिक) + रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन — Genitive plural; बहुव्रीहि ‘ऊर्द्ध्वरेतस्’ = ‘whose semen is upward’ (ब्रह्मचर्य-विशेषण)

• देविका-तटम्: the bank of (river) Devikā
• देविका-तटम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देविका (प्रातिपदिक) + तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — Accusative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (देविकायाः तटम्)

• आश्रित्य: having resorted to
• आश्रित्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ + √श्रि (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive) — ‘having resorted to/after taking refuge’

• जपन्ति: they recite
• जपन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — Present indicative, 3rd plural

• शत-रुद्रियम्: the Śatarudriya (hymn)
• शत-रुद्रियम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + रुद्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन — Accusative singular; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रयोग: ‘शतरुद्रियम्’ (Śatarudriya hymn)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from continuity)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Devikā-taṭa (within Prabhāsa)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as devi)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Forty thousand austere sages with radiant restraint (ūrdhvaretas) seated on kusa mats along Devikā’s bank, chanting Śatarudrīya in Vedic cadence; the riverbank is lined with sacred trees, and the air is thick with mantra resonance.

Characters & Entities

• Devikā
• Śatarudrīya
• Ṛṣis (ūrdhvaretas)
• Rudra/Śiva (implied)
• Prabhāsa Kṣetra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity and disciplined life, joined with Vedic Rudra-recitation, is portrayed as the hallmark of life in a great Śaiva kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Devikā riverbank within the Prabhāsa sacred complex.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Japa/recitation of the Śatarudrīya (a principal Vedic Rudra litany) while residing by Devikā.