Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

वकारं हृदि मध्ये तु रेकारं पार्श्वयोर्द्वयोः । णिकारं दक्षिणे कुक्षौ यकारं वामसंज्ञिते

Transliteration

vakāraṃ hṛdi madhye tu rekāraṃ pārśvayordvayoḥ | ṇikāraṃ dakṣiṇe kukṣau yakāraṃ vāmasaṃjñite

Translation

دل کے بیچ میں ‘و’ حرف رکھے؛ دونوں پہلوؤں پر ‘ر’؛ پیٹ کے دائیں جانب ‘ڻ’ اور جسے بایاں پہلو کہا جاتا ہے وہاں ‘ی’ کو قائم کرے۔

Word by Word

• वकारम्: the letter ‘va’
• वकारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vakāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘व’-वर्णः

• हृदि: in the heart
• हृदि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛd (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; स्थानवाचक (in the middle)

• तु: and/indeed
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle)

• रेकारम्: the letter ‘re’
• रेकारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rekāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘रे’-वर्णः

• पार्श्वयोः: on the two sides
• पार्श्वयोः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), द्विवचन; ‘of/on the two sides’ (locative sense intended, but form is genitive-dual)

• द्वयोः: of the two
• द्वयोः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), द्विवचन; संख्यावाचक-विशेषणम् qualifying ‘पार्श्वयोः’

• णिकारम्: the letter ‘ṇi’
• णिकारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṇikāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘णि’-वर्णः

• दक्षिणे: on the right
• दक्षिणे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘on the right (side)’

• कुक्षौ: in the belly/side
• कुक्षौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kukṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (वैकल्पिक-रूप; classical loc.sg often ‘कुक्षौ’); ‘in the belly/side’

• यकारम्: the letter ‘ya’
• यकारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘य’-वर्णः

• वामसंज्ञिते: in the (region) termed ‘left’
• वामसंज्ञिते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāma (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃjñita (√ज्ञा + सम्, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; समास: वाम-इति संज्ञिते (in the place called ‘left’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya instructional tone)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close, intimate ritual moment: the practitioner’s palm rests on the heart, then moves to both flanks and abdomen; each touch reveals a glowing syllable hovering like a seed-mantra.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sanctifying the body through nyāsa turns it into a fit vessel for worship, aligning speech-syllables with sacred bodily loci.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, praised through detailed ritual discipline taught within its Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A nyāsa instruction: assigning specific mantra-syllables (‘va, ra, ṇa, ya’) to heart, flanks, and abdomen.