Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

देव्युवाच । भगवन्देवदेवेश संसारार्णवतारक । सरस्वत्याश्च माहात्म्यं विस्तरात्कथयस्व मे

Transliteration

devyuvāca | bhagavandevadeveśa saṃsārārṇavatāraka | sarasvatyāśca māhātmyaṃ vistarātkathayasva me

Translation

Nữ Thần thưa: Ôi Đấng Thế Tôn, Chúa tể của chư thiên, bậc cứu độ đưa muôn loài vượt qua biển sinh tử—xin hãy kể cho con tường tận về đại uy đức của Sarasvatī.

Word by Word

• devī: the Goddess
• devī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (Nominative); एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• bhagavan: O Blessed Lord
• bhagavan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

• deva: O god
• deva: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

• deveśa: O Lord of gods
• deveśa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva-īśa (प्रातिपदिक; देव + ईश)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

• saṃsārārṇavatāraka: O savior across the ocean of saṃsāra
• saṃsārārṇavatāraka: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra-arṇava-tāraka (प्रातिपदिक; संसार + अर्णव + तारक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative); एकवचन

• sarasvatyāḥ: of Sarasvatī
• sarasvatyāḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (Genitive); एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• māhātmyam: glory, greatness
• māhātmyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (Accusative); एकवचन

• vistarāt: in detail
• vistarāt: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावार्थे तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्तम्; पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्ययवत् (ablatival adverb)

• kathayasva: tell, narrate
• kathayasva: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathaya (धातु; कथय—णिजन्त from कथ्/कथ)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative); मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• me: to me
• me: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: उभयलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (Dative); एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Devī (Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhagavān Devadeveśa (Lord as teacher)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī respectfully addresses the Lord, praising him as Devadeveśa and the ferryman across saṃsāra, requesting a detailed exposition of Sarasvatī’s māhātmya; a calm teaching setting near a sacred landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Śiva
• Sarasvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Approaching dharma through inquiry—reverent questioning opens the way to understanding tīrtha-māhātmya and liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Sarasvatī in the Prabhāsa-kṣetra context, introduced as a subject of māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription yet—this verse initiates the request for detailed teaching on Sarasvatī’s greatness and related rites.