Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । इति प्रोक्ता तदा देवी शंकरेण यशस्विनी । पुनः पप्रच्छ विप्रेंद्राः क्षेत्रमाहात्म्यविस्तरम्

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | iti proktā tadā devī śaṃkareṇa yaśasvinī | punaḥ papraccha vipreṃdrāḥ kṣetramāhātmyavistaram

Translation

Sūta nói: Khi ấy, Nữ Thần rạng danh, sau khi được Śaṅkara thuyết dạy, lại hỏi lần nữa—hỡi các bậc tối thắng trong hàng brāhmaṇa—về sự trình bày chi tiết uy linh của thánh địa Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच्)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• proktā: having been spoken to / addressed
• proktā: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prokta (कृदन्त; √vac (वच्) + pra उपसर्ग, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) — 'having been addressed/said'

• tadā: then
• tadā: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• devī: the goddess
• devī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• śaṃkareṇa: by Śaṅkara
• śaṃkareṇa: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• yaśasvinī: glorious
• yaśasvinī: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yaśasvinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरावृत्तिवाचक अव्यय (again)

• papraccha: asked
• papraccha: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √prach (प्रछ्)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• vipra-indrāḥ: O best Brahmins
• vipra-indrāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारयार्थ: 'विप्रेषु इन्द्राः' (O best of Brahmins)

• kṣetra-māhātmya-vistaram: the detailed account of the field’s greatness
• kṣetra-māhātmya-vistaram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक) + vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'क्षेत्रस्य माहात्म्यस्य विस्तारः'

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta-narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other sages (viprendrāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta narrates to assembled brāhmaṇa sages; within the inner scene, Devī, praised by Śaṅkara, asks again for an expanded account of Prabhāsa’s greatness.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Devī (Pārvatī)
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverent inquiry into tīrtha-māhātmya is itself valued—listening and asking with faith is portrayed as a gateway to dharma and understanding.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, introduced as the ‘kṣetra’ whose māhātmya is to be explained in detail.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the emphasis is on śravaṇa (hearing) and praśna (devotional questioning) as preparatory acts.