Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

सोमेशाद्दक्षिणाग्नेये सागरस्य समी पतः । संस्थिता तु महादेवी वडवानलधारिणी

Transliteration

someśāddakṣiṇāgneye sāgarasya samī pataḥ | saṃsthitā tu mahādevī vaḍavānaladhāriṇī

Translation

سومیش کے جنوب مشرق میں، سمندر کے قریب، مہادیوی نے اپنا مقام اختیار کیا—وہی جو واڈوانل (زیرِ آب آگ) کو دھارنے والی ہے۔

Word by Word

• सोमेशात्: from Someśa (place/Śiva as Someśa)
• सोमेशात्: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: someśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• दक्षिणाग्नेये: in the south-eastern (direction/region)
• दक्षिणाग्नेये: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa-āgneya (प्रातिपदिक; दक्षिण + आग्नेय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; दिक्-विशेषणम् (प्रदेशे)

• सागरस्य: of the ocean
• सागरस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• समीपतः: near, in the vicinity
• समीपतः: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samīpatas (अव्यय/तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक-अव्ययम्/locative adverb)

• संस्थिता: is situated / stands
• संस्थिता: Kriyā (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + सम्- (उपसर्ग) → saṃsthita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘is situated/has stood’

• तु: indeed, and/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle; विरोध/अन्वय)

• महादेवी: the great goddess
• महादेवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक; महा + देवी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः

• वडवानलधारिणी: bearing the submarine fire (vaḍavānala)
• वडवानलधारिणी: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaḍavā-anala-dhāriṇī (प्रातिपदिक; वडवा + अनल + धारिणी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (महादेवी); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (वडवानलं धारयति इति)

Speaker

Narrator (within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya; traditional frame: Sūta speaking to sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Someśa-sannidhi (SE āgneya) Vaḍavānala-dhāriṇī-sthāna

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Near the sea, southeast of the Someśa shrine, Sarasvatī stands as Mahādevī, holding within her the Vaḍavānala; the ocean glows faintly beneath, while the temple landmark anchors the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Someśa
• Ocean (Sāgara)
• Mahādevī
• Vaḍavānala

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is not symbolic alone; it is mapped as lived dharma—where divine powers are stationed for the world’s welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra near Someśa and the seashore, identifying the locale of the Vaḍavānaladhāriṇī Devī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it provides directional placement for pilgrimage orientation.