Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

अप्तत्त्वे संस्थितं देवि विष्णोराद्यकलेवरे । इति ते कथितं देवि संक्षेपात्क्षेत्रकारणम्

Transliteration

aptattve saṃsthitaṃ devi viṣṇorādyakalevare | iti te kathitaṃ devi saṃkṣepātkṣetrakāraṇam

Translation

اے دیوی! یہ اپ تتّو، یعنی آب کے اصول میں، وِشنو کے ازلی قالب میں قائم ہے۔ پس اے دیوی! میں نے اختصار سے اس مقدّس کشتَر کا سببِ پیدائش بیان کر دیا۔

Word by Word

• ap-tattve: in the water-element
• ap-tattve: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ap + tattva (अप् + तत्त्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘अपां तत्त्वम्’/‘जलतत्त्वम्’); अधिकरणार्थे

• saṃsthitam: situated, established
• saṃsthitam: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃ-sthā (स्था धातु) + kta (क्त-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (situated/established)

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (देवी; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• viṣṇoḥ: of Viṣṇu
• viṣṇoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (विष्णु; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• ādya-kalevare: in the primordial body
• ādya-kalevare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādya + kalevara (आद्य + कलेवर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘आद्यं कलेवरम्’); अधिकरणार्थे

• iti: thus
• iti: Avyaya (Quotative/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (इति; अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरणार्थक निपात

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (त्वद्; सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (to you/for you—contextually dative sense though form is genitive)

• kathitam: told, explained
• kathitam: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kath (कथ् धातु) + kta (क्त-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (told)

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (देवी; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• saṃkṣepāt: briefly, in summary
• saṃkṣepāt: Avyaya (Adverbial ablative/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkṣepa (संक्षेप; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; अपादानार्थे/क्रियाविशेषणार्थे (briefly)

• kṣetra-kāraṇam: the cause/reason of the sacred place
• kṣetra-kāraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra + kāraṇa (क्षेत्र + कारण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘क्षेत्रस्य कारणम्’)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa Kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva explains to Devī that Prabhāsa’s kṣetra-cause is established in ap-tattva and in Viṣṇu’s primordial body; a cosmic seascape with luminous waters and a subtle Nārāyaṇa-form behind the discourse.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Ap-tattva (Water principle)
• Prabhāsa Kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrthas are rooted in cosmic principles: sacred waters (ap) and divine embodiment (Viṣṇu) underwrite the sanctity of place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra—its sanctity is linked to ap-tattva and Viṣṇu’s primordial form.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse concludes an explanatory summary of the kṣetra’s origin.