Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

ब्रह्माण्डमानदण्डोऽयं पुरतो गिरिसत्तमः । व्रजन्त्याः सुरकार्येण मम विघ्नकरः स्थितः

Transliteration

brahmāṇḍamānadaṇḍo'yaṃ purato girisattamaḥ | vrajantyāḥ surakāryeṇa mama vighnakaraḥ sthitaḥ

Translation

“یہ پہاڑوں میں برتر پہاڑ، گویا خود کائنات کو ناپنے کی لکڑی، میرے سامنے کھڑا ہے۔ میں دیوی کارِ خیر کے لیے جا رہی ہوں، مگر یہ میرے لیے رکاوٹ بن کر آ کھڑا ہوا ہے۔”

Word by Word

• brahmāṇḍamānadaṇḍaḥ: the universe-measuring staff/pillar
• brahmāṇḍamānadaṇḍaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmāṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + māna (प्रातिपदिक) + daṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/निर्धारणार्थः: 'ब्रह्माण्डस्य मानः (परिमाणम्) यस्य सः दण्डः' (measuring-rod of the universe)

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (Deictic apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• purataḥ: in front
• purataḥ: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puratas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) = indeclinable adverb; 'in front'

• giri-sattamaḥ: the best of mountains
• giri-sattamaḥ: Karta (Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: giri (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'गिरिणां सत्तमः' (best among mountains)

• vrajantyāḥ: of (me) going / while going (gen.)
• vrajantyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √vraj (धातु) + śatṛ (शतृ)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle) स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; 'of (her) who is going'

• sura-kāryeṇa: for the gods' task
• sura-kāryeṇa: Karana (Instrument/Reason)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + kārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'सुराणां कार्यम्' (work of the gods)

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• vighna-karaḥ: an obstacle-maker
• vighna-karaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vighna (प्रातिपदिक) + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष: 'विघ्नं करोति' (one who causes obstacle)

• sthitaḥ: stands, is positioned
• sthitaḥ: Kriya (Predicative state)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेयभावे (as predicate: 'is standing/has stood')

Speaker

Sarasvatī Devī (river-goddess; inferred from immediate context ‘sā devī’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied audience; within the scene, the goddess speaks to herself/attendants (not specified)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The goddess speaks, pointing toward a colossal mountain ahead, described as a cosmic measuring rod; she stands poised, resolute, on a divine errand, with the sea behind and the path blocked before her.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī (Devī)
• Mountain (Girisattama)
• Gods (Sura)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even divine undertakings meet resistance; the māhātmya portrays obstacles as part of cosmic order, shaping sacred places and stories.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Prabhāsa coastal region where Sarasvatī’s course encounters a significant mountain near the ocean.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this verse is mythic narration explaining sacred topography.