Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

बुधेश्वरात्पश्चिमतो धनुषां सप्तके स्थितम् । छिन्नं मया पुरा देवि ब्रह्मणः पंचमं शिरः

Transliteration

budheśvarātpaścimato dhanuṣāṃ saptake sthitam | chinnaṃ mayā purā devi brahmaṇaḥ paṃcamaṃ śiraḥ

Translation

بدھیشور کے مغرب میں، سات دھنُش کے فاصلے پر وہ مقام واقع ہے۔ وہاں، اے دیوی، میں نے قدیم زمانے میں برہما کا پانچواں سر کاٹ ڈالا تھا۔

Word by Word

• budheśvarāt: from Budheśvara
• budheśvarāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: budha-īśvara (प्रातिपदिक; बुध + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादान (source/ablative)

• paścimataḥ: to the west of
• paścimataḥ: Adhikarana (Spatial/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paścimataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (directional adverb)

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

• saptake: in a set of seven
• saptake: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saptaka (प्रातिपदिक; numeral derivative)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरणे (in a group/measure of seven)

• sthitam: situated; standing
• sthitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of implied liṅgam/स्थानम्)

• chinnam: cut off
• chinnam: Karma (Object/result/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: chid (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि-भावे

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Instrument/Agentive instr./करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/कर्तृ-निर्देश (agent-instrumental)

• purā: formerly; once
• purā: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of time)

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

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahmā
• brahmaṇaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• paṃcamam: the fifth
• paṃcamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paṃcama (प्रातिपदिक; ordinal)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying śiraḥ)

• śiraḥ: head
• śiraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म (object of chinnam)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapālīśa/Kapālī-sthāna (implied by subsequent verses) near Budheśvara within Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī/Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred coastal kṣetra-map vignette: Budheśvara as a landmark shrine; to its west, Śiva in fierce serenity, holding a severed skull, the moment of Brahmā’s fifth head being cut—rendered as a remembered event embedded in the landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Budheśvara
• Kapālīśvara
• Brahmā
• Śiva
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places preserve cosmic events; mythic memory anchors dharma in geography, turning landscape into a living scripture.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapālīśvara in Prabhāsa Kṣetra, located west of Budheśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse gives location and a mythic event (Śiva severing Brahmā’s fifth head).