Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच । तथोक्तो माधवेनासौ चकार हरिमंदिरम् । प्रतिमां पूजयामास गन्धपुष्पानुलेपनैः

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca | tathokto mādhavenāsau cakāra harimaṃdiram | pratimāṃ pūjayāmāsa gandhapuṣpānulepanaiḥ

Translation

Wika ni Pulastya: Nang maturuan siya ni Mādhava, itinayo niya ang isang templo para kay Hari, at sinamba niya ang banal na larawan sa pamamagitan ng pabango, mga bulaklak, at mga pamahid na alay.

Word by Word

• pulastyaḥ: Pulastya
• pulastyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ऋषिनाम

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु: वच् (भाषणे)

• tathā-uktaḥ: thus instructed
• tathā-uktaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tathā (अव्यय) + ukta (कृदन्त; √vac)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त); अव्ययीभावः: ‘तथा’ + ‘उक्तः’ = ‘so instructed/thus told’

• mādhavena: by Mādhava (Vishnu)
• mādhavena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mādhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• asau: he
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asau (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; संकेतवाचक-सर्वनाम

• cakāra: made/built
• cakāra: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु: कृ (करणे)

• hari-mandiram: a temple of Hari
• hari-mandiram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक) + mandira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘हरेः मन्दिरम्’

• pratimām: the image
• pratimām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratimā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• pūjayāmāsa: worshipped
• pūjayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect) परोक्षभूत, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु: पूज्; ‘आमास’ इति परिप्रयोगः (intensive/periphrastic perfect sense: ‘did worship’)

• gandha-puṣpa-anulepanaiḥ: with perfumes, flowers, and unguents
• gandha-puṣpa-anulepanaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandha (प्रातिपदिक) + puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + anulepana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः: ‘गन्धैः पुष्पैः अनुलेपनैश्च’

Speaker

Pulastya (narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hari-mandira (Arbuda)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (implied) the inquiring audience within Skanda Purāṇa’s frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ambārīṣa oversees the building of a Hari temple; then performs worship of the icon with perfumes, flowers, and unguents—priests, artisans, and devotees present; lamps and incense fill the air.

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Mādhava (Viṣṇu)
• Hari
• Ambārīṣa (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion becomes embodied in place: building a temple and offering upacāras turns faith into a living sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Hari temple established in the Arbuda-khaṇḍa setting (Mount Arbuda region), forming a locus of worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pūjā with gandha (fragrance), puṣpa (flowers), and anulepana (unctuous anointing), standard devotional upacāras.