Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

उपाकर्मोष्ठरुचकः प्रवर्ग्यावर्तभूषणः । नानाच्छन्दोगतिपथो ब्रह्मोक्तक्रमविक्रमः

Transliteration

upākarmoṣṭharucakaḥ pravargyāvartabhūṣaṇaḥ | nānācchandogatipatho brahmoktakramavikramaḥ

Translation

اُپاکرمن اُس کے ہونٹوں کی چمک تھا؛ پروَرگیہ رسم کے آوَرت (چکر) اُس کے زیور تھے۔ اُس کے راستے ویدی چھندوں کی گوناگوں چالیں تھیں؛ اور اُس کے قدم برہما کے کہے ہوئے مرتب کَرموں کی ترتیب کے مطابق تھے۔

Word by Word

• upākarmauṣṭharucakaḥ: having the ‘uṣṭha-rucaka’ (a ritual mark/feature) at the upākarman rite
• upākarmauṣṭharucakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: upākarman (प्रातिपदिक) + uṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + rucaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (उपाकर्म-उष्ठ-रुचकः = उपाकर्मणि उष्ठरुचको यस्य/उपाकर्मसमये उष्ठरुचकोऽयम्)

• pravargyāvartabhūṣaṇaḥ: adorned with the pravargya-ritual ‘āvarta’ (whorl/turn)
• pravargyāvartabhūṣaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pravargya (प्रातिपदिक) + āvarta (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (प्रवर्ग्य-आवर्त-भूषणः = प्रवर्ग्यस्य आवर्तो भूषणं यस्य)

• nānā: various
• nānā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nānā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-निपात)
• Form: अव्यय; विशेषणार्थे ‘विविध/various’

• chandaḥ: of Vedic metres
• chandaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: chandas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (समासपूर्वपदत्वे)

• gati: of movements/ways
• gati: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (समासपूर्वपदत्वे)

• pathaḥ: path
• pathaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; (पूर्वपदैः सह समासार्थे)

• nānācchandogatipathaḥ: whose course is through various Vedic metres and their movements
• nānācchandogatipathaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā (अव्यय) + chandas (प्रातिपदिक) + gati (प्रातिपदिक) + patha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (नानाच्छन्दो-गति-पथः = नानाविधानां छन्दसां गतयः पथाश्च यस्य/यत्र)

• brahmoktakramavikramaḥ: whose strides follow the sequence spoken by Brahmā
• brahmoktakramavikramaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + ukta (कृदन्त; √vac/वच्) + krama (प्रातिपदिक) + vikrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मोक्त-क्रम-विक्रमः = ब्रह्मणा उक्तः क्रमः, तस्य विक्रमः/पराक्रमः यस्य)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The deity’s lips gleam with the sanctity of Upākarman; around him swirl the ‘āvarta’ cycles of Pravargya like radiant rings; pathways before him are patterned as chandas (Gāyatrī, Triṣṭubh, Jagatī) forming roads; his strides are measured as Brahmā-proclaimed sequences (krama).

Characters & Entities

• Yajñavarāha
• Upākarman
• Pravargya
• Chandas (Vedic metres)
• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Vedic discipline—rites, metres, and ordered recitation—is celebrated as a sacred structure through which divinity moves in the world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

It supports the Prabhāsa tīrtha narrative by depicting the cosmic-sacrificial form connected to the site’s origin tradition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct injunction; it references Upākarman and Pravargya to underscore the sanctity of Vedic observances.