Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्काले महादेवि पूर्वमन्वंतरे पुरा । त्रेतायुगे चतुर्थे तु ऋषयस्तत्र संगताः

Transliteration

tasminkāle mahādevi pūrvamanvaṃtare purā | tretāyuge caturthe tu ṛṣayastatra saṃgatāḥ

Translation

“Khi ấy, hỡi Đại Nữ Thần—thuở xưa trong Manvantara trước đó—vào Tretā-yuga lần thứ tư, các bậc ṛṣi đã tụ hội tại nơi ấy.”

Word by Word

• तस्मिन्: at that (time)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• काले: in the time
• काले: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (महा + देवी)

• पूर्वम्: formerly
• पूर्वम्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय

• अन्वन्तरे: in the manvantara
• अन्वन्तरे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्वन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• पुरा: long ago
• पुरा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय

• त्रेतायुगे: in the Tretā age
• त्रेतायुगे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रेतायुग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (त्रेतायाः युगम्)

• चतुर्थे: in the fourth (phase)
• चतुर्थे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; विशेषण

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात

• ऋषयः: sages
• ऋषयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• संगताः: assembled, came together
• संगताः: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे (used predicatively with subject)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī / Maheśvarī (as addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A primeval Prabhāsa landscape with gathered r̥ṣis—matted hair, deer-skins, kamaṇḍalus—seated in a semicircle, as the narration marks an earlier Manvantara and a Tretā-yuga setting.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Śrī Devī (Pārvatī)
• Ṛṣis (sages)
• Prabhāsa Kṣetra
• Tretā-yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places attract saintly assemblies; the presence of ṛṣis signals a tīrtha’s power to support tapas and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, as the meeting-place of ṛṣis in ancient time.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it introduces the ṛṣis’ pilgrimage and forthcoming austerities.