Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

ॐ नमः पंचवक्त्राय दशबाहुत्रिनेत्रिणे । श्वेतं वृषभमारूढ श्वेताभरणभूषित

Transliteration

oṃ namaḥ paṃcavaktrāya daśabāhutrinetriṇe | śvetaṃ vṛṣabhamārūḍha śvetābharaṇabhūṣita

Translation

اوم—پانچ چہروں والے، دس بازوؤں اور تین آنکھوں والے کو نمسکار۔ اے سفید بیل پر سوار، اے سفید زیورات سے آراستہ پروردگار! تجھے سلام۔

Word by Word

• oṃ: Oṃ
• oṃ: Mantra particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: oṃ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; प्रणव (sacred syllable)

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्रायम्; नमस्कारार्थक-निपातः; उपपदयोगे दत्तिः (to + dative)

• paṃca-vaktrāya: to the five-faced (one)
• paṃca-vaktrāya: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃca (प्रातिपदिक) + vaktra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-विभक्तिः (सम्प्रदान), एकवचनम्; समासः—द्विगु (पञ्च वक्राणि यस्य)

• daśa-bāhu-tri-netriṇe: to the ten-armed, three-eyed (one)
• daśa-bāhu-tri-netriṇe: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśa (प्रातिपदिक) + bāhu (प्रातिपदिक) + tri (प्रातिपदिक) + netrin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी-विभक्तिः (सम्प्रदान), एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (दशबाहुः च त्रिनेत्री च) (समाहार-विशेषणरूपेण)

• śvetam: white
• śvetam: Sambodhana/Descriptor
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śveta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सम्बोधन-स्तुत्यर्थे विशेषणम् (elliptic)

• vṛṣabham: bull
• vṛṣabham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• ārūḍha: mounted (upon)
• ārūḍha: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-rūḍha (कृदन्त; √ruh (धातु) with prefix ā)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (कर्ता/विशेष्य), एकवचनम्; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (mounted)

• śveta-ābharaṇa-bhūṣita: adorned with white ornaments
• śveta-ābharaṇa-bhūṣita: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śveta (प्रातिपदिक) + ābharaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūṣita (कृदन्त; √bhūṣ (धातु))
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त ‘भूषित’

Speaker

Sūta (introducing the worship-mantra; deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Someśvara/Somnatha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous Śiva appears in meditation-vision: five faces radiating, three eyes, ten arms holding symbolic implements (left unspecified), seated upon a white bull; white ornaments gleam against a sacred coastal shrine backdrop.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Vṛṣabha (Nandin/bull mount)
• Somnātha (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is praised as the multi-form cosmic Lord; mantra remembrance aligns the worshipper with that divine reality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Somnātha at Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where this mantra is employed in the prescribed worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Recitation of a specific Śiva-mantra praising pañcavaktra, trinetrī, and vṛṣabhavāhana as part of the rite.