Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

युधिष्ठिर उवाच । प्रभासं तात मे ब्रूहि कथं जातं महाफलम् । स्वर्गसोपानदं दृश्यं संक्षेपात्कथयस्व मे

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | prabhāsaṃ tāta me brūhi kathaṃ jātaṃ mahāphalam | svargasopānadaṃ dṛśyaṃ saṃkṣepātkathayasva me

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: Bạch phụ thân, xin nói cho con về Prabhāsa—vì sao nơi ấy lại sinh đại phúc quả như vậy? Chốn hiển hiện là ‘đấng ban bậc thang lên cõi trời’ này, xin giảng cho con vắn tắt.

Word by Word

• yudhiṣṭhiraḥ: Yudhiṣṭhira
• yudhiṣṭhiraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yudhiṣṭhira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• prabhāsam: Prabhāsa (tīrtha/place)
• prabhāsam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• tāta: O dear one/father
• tāta: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• me: my/to me
• me: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive) एकवचन-रूप (enclitic)

• brūhi: tell
• brūhi: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• katham: how
• katham: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• jātam: born/occurred
• jātam: Kriyā (Predicate participle/क्रियापद-विशेष)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु) + jāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग-सामर्थ्य

• mahāphalam: great fruit/result
• mahāphalam: Karma/Viśeṣya (Object/predicate complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (महच्च तत् फलम्)

• svarga-sopāna-dam: giving a stairway to heaven
• svarga-sopāna-dam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svarga + sopāna + da (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (स्वर्गस्य सोपानं ददाति इति)

• dṛśyam: visible/wondrous to behold
• dṛśyam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dṛśya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• saṃkṣepāt: briefly/in summary
• saṃkṣepāt: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/हेतु-निर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkṣepa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• kathayasva: narrate/tell
• kathayasva: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathaya (कथय, णिजन्त from kath) (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• me: to me
• me: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th/Dative) एकवचन-रूप (enclitic)

Speaker

Yudhiṣṭhira

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mārkaṇḍeya (addressed as ‘tāta’/fatherly sage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A royal inquirer (Yudhiṣṭhira) respectfully questions a sage-father figure about the mysterious, heaven-leading power of Prabhāsa; the scene frames the opening of a tīrtha-māhātmya narration.

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Prabhāsa
• svarga (heaven)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are understood through their origin-stories (māhātmya), which reveal why their merit is considered extraordinary.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa (connected with Prabhāseśvara) is the focus of inquiry.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse initiates a request for the tīrtha’s condensed māhātmya narration.