Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि शंकरादित्यमुत्तमम् । गंगेश्वरस्य पूर्वेण शंकरेण प्रतिष्ठितम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi śaṃkarādityamuttamam | gaṃgeśvarasya pūrveṇa śaṃkareṇa pratiṣṭhitam

Translation

Wika ni Īśvara: Pagkaraan nito, O Mahādevī, marapat na magtungo sa dakilang Śaṅkarāditya, na itinatag ni Śaṅkara sa silangan ng Gaṅgeśvara.

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/वक्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धा॒तु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) = ‘thereafter’

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धा॒तु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; आज्ञार्थे (injunctive advice)

• mahādevi: O Mahādevī
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः = ‘O great goddess/lady’

• śaṃkara-ādityam: Śaṃkarāditya
• śaṃkara-ādityam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक) + āditya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः = ‘Śaṃkara-Āditya (a deity/place-name)’

• uttamam: excellent/supreme
• uttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• gaṅgeśvarasya: of Gaṅgeśvara
• gaṅgeśvarasya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgeśvara (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• pūrveṇa: to the east (of)
• pūrveṇa: Adhikarana (Spatial relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; दिशावाचक-प्रयोग = ‘to the east of’

• śaṃkareṇa: by Śaṃkara
• śaṃkareṇa: Karana (Agent-instrument/कर्तृकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• pratiṣṭhitam: established
• pratiṣṭhitam: Kriya (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prati + sthā (धा॒तु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘established/installed’

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śaṅkarāditya

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Īśvara) instructs Devī to proceed to a radiant Sūrya shrine named Śaṅkarāditya, shown east of a Gaṅgeśvara liṅga shrine within a coastal sacred landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Īśvara/Śaṅkara)
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Gaṅgeśvara
• Śaṅkarāditya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is mapped as a sacred sequence; moving through consecrated sites aligns the devotee with layered forms of divinity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śaṅkarāditya in Prabhāsa Kṣetra, situated to the east of Gaṅgeśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Gamana/visitation (going to the shrine) is prescribed as part of the tīrtha itinerary.