Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

अतपद्वै तपो घोरं कन्दमूलफलाशनः । वर्षाणामयुतं साग्रं प्रतिष्ठाप्य महेश्वरम्

Transliteration

atapadvai tapo ghoraṃ kandamūlaphalāśanaḥ | varṣāṇāmayutaṃ sāgraṃ pratiṣṭhāpya maheśvaram

Translation

اس نے کَند، جڑیں اور پھل کھا کر سخت تپسیا کی۔ اور دس ہزار سے کچھ زیادہ برسوں تک وہاں مہیشور کو پرتیِشٹھا کر کے اس کی پوجا و اُپاسنا کی۔

Word by Word

• अतपत्: performed austerity
• अतपत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/उपपादक (emphatic particle)

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• घोरम्: terrible, intense
• घोरम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• कन्दमूलफलाशनः: one who ate (only) bulbs, roots, and fruits
• कन्दमूलफलाशनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + मूल (प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक) + आशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (कन्द-मूल-फलानि आशनम् यस्य)

• वर्षाणाम्: of years
• वर्षाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• अयुतम्: ten thousand
• अयुतम्: Karma (Measure/परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयुत (प्रातिपदिक/संख्याशब्द)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); संख्यावाचक (ten thousand)

• साग्रम्: and more (with an excess)
• साग्रम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); स-अग्र = अधिक/उपरि सहित (with an excess)

• प्रतिष्ठाप्य: having installed
• प्रतिष्ठाप्य: Kriya (Non-finite action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव; causative sense in context ‘to install’

• महेश्वरम्: Mahēśvara (Śiva)
• महेश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṃkīśvara / Maheśvara-sthāpana at Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sage Maṃkī performs fierce austerities in a sacred grove near the confluence, subsisting on roots and fruits; time passes in symbolic cycles; finally he installs a radiant Śiva-liṅga (Maheśvara) with ritual fire and offerings.

Characters & Entities

• Maṃkī Ṛṣi
• Maheśvara (Śiva)
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sustained tapas combined with devotion (especially establishing Śiva) is portrayed as a powerful means to sanctify a place and attain divine grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The locale that becomes associated with Maṃkī’s installation of Maheśvara—later known as Maṃkīśvara in Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-pratiṣṭhā (establishing/enshrining Maheśvara) is referenced, along with ascetic discipline.