Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

एतदन्तरमासाद्य तीर्थानि सुरसुन्दरि । पातालादिकटाहांतं तानि तत्र वसंति वै

Transliteration

etadantaramāsādya tīrthāni surasundari | pātālādikaṭāhāṃtaṃ tāni tatra vasaṃti vai

Translation

اے دیوتاؤں میں حسین، اس درمیانی خطّے تک پہنچ کر تیرتھ سچ مچ وہیں قیام کرتے ہیں—پاتال سے شروع ہونے والی کڑاہی جیسی گہرائیوں تک پھیلے ہوئے۔

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम

• antaram: interval/space (within)
• antaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• āsādya: having reached/approached
• āsādya: Kriya (Non-finite verbal/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-sad (धातु) + ya (ल्यप्/gerund)
• Form: अव्ययकृदन्त (ल्यप्/gerund), 'having reached/approached'

• tīrthāni: holy fords/pilgrimage spots
• tīrthāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), बहुवचन (Plural)

• surasundari: O fair one among the gods
• surasundari: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura + sundarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय (sura-sundarī = 'divinely beautiful one')

• pātāla-ādi-kaṭāha-antam: extending from Pātāla etc. up to Kaṭāha
• pātāla-ādi-kaṭāha-antam: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pātāla + ādi + kaṭāha + anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुष (anta = 'up to/ending at'; pātāla-ādi-kaṭāha = 'Pātāla etc. and Kaṭāha' as range); विशेषण (qualifying etat antaram)

• tāni: those (places)
• tāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), बहुवचन (Plural); सर्वनाम (referring to tīrthāni)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb: 'there')

• vasaṃti: they dwell
• vasaṃti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vas (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक अव्यय (particle: 'indeed/certainly')

Speaker

Śiva (addressing Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (intervening region filled with tīrthas)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Surasundarī / Mahādevī (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cross-section vision of Prabhāsa: on the surface, shrines and waterbodies; beneath, layered realms descending to a cauldron-like Pātāla, with luminous tīrtha-spirits residing throughout.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Tīrthas
• Pātāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrthas are living spiritual presences; their sanctity is said to pervade realms beyond ordinary sight.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The intervening sacred tract within Prabhāsa-kṣetra where multiple tīrthas are said to abide.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse emphasizes the pervasive presence of tīrthas, supporting pilgrimage and bathing practices by implication.