Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

धनुषां पंचके देवि स्थितं पातकनाशनम्

Transliteration

dhanuṣāṃ paṃcake devi sthitaṃ pātakanāśanam

Translation

اے دیوی! وہ مقام پانچ دھنُش (کمان کے پیمانے) کے فاصلے پر واقع ہے، اور گناہوں کا نِستار کرنے والا ہے۔

Word by Word

• dhanuṣām: of bows (as a measure)
• dhanuṣām: Sambandha (Measure relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (Genitive); बहुवचन

• paṃcake: in a set of five
• paṃcake: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃcaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (Locative); एकवचन

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

• sthitam: situated
• sthitam: Kriya (Predicative/क्रियाविशेष)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc); एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त)

• pātakanāśanam: destroyer of sins
• pātakanāśanam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pātaka-nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc); एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘पातकस्य नाशनम्’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viśvakarmēśvara vicinity (within Prabhāsa-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim path within Prabhāsa marked by a short measured distance; a small shrine or liṅga ahead, with the sea-breeze and temple flags; the sense that ‘even here’ sins fall away.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra
• Viśvakarmā-pratiṣṭhita Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa ties measurable geography to spiritual efficacy, presenting the site as both locatable and sin-destroying.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The Viśvakarmā-installed Liṅga (described as pātakanāśana) in the Mokṣasvāmi northern vicinity within Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is stated here; the verse provides a distance marker and the promised benefit of sin-destruction.