Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

पार्वत्युवाच । कथय त्वं महेशान सर्वदेवनमस्कृत । तीर्थराजः प्रयागस्तु कथं विष्णुः सनातनः

Transliteration

pārvatyuvāca | kathaya tvaṃ maheśāna sarvadevanamaskṛta | tīrtharājaḥ prayāgastu kathaṃ viṣṇuḥ sanātanaḥ

Translation

Pārvatī thưa: Xin Ngài kể cho con, hỡi Maheśāna, đấng được chư thiên đồng kính lễ—vì sao Prayāga là vua của các tīrtha, và bằng cách nào Viṣṇu vĩnh cửu hiện diện nơi đây?

Word by Word

• pārvatī: Pārvatī
• pārvatī: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd person singular)

• kathaya: tell
• kathaya: Kriyā (Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन (2nd person singular)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Pronoun, Nominative, Singular)

• maheśāna: O Maheśāna (Śiva)
• maheśāna: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular)

• sarva-deva-namaskṛta: saluted by all gods
• sarva-deva-namaskṛta: Sambodhana (Address/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक) + namaskṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; कृ धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular); समासः सर्वदेव + नमस्कृत (तत्पुरुष), क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (one who is saluted by all gods)

• tīrtha-rājaḥ: king of pilgrimage places
• tīrtha-rājaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular); समासः तीर्थस्य राजा (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• prayāgaḥ: Prayāga
• prayāgaḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विरोध/विशेषार्थक निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• katham: how
• katham: Prashna (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रश्नार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (interrogative adverb: how)

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• sanātanaḥ: eternal
• sanātanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sanātana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

Speaker

Pārvatī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gupta-Prayāga in Prabhāsa (topic of inquiry)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Īśvara (Maheśāna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pārvatī, with folded hands, questions Śiva about Prayāga’s supremacy and Viṣṇu’s eternal presence; Śiva sits serene, ready to reveal the hidden theology of the place.

Characters & Entities

• Pārvatī
• Maheśāna (Śiva)
• Prayāga
• Viṣṇu (Mādhava)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True tīrtha-glory is understood through inquiry and teaching; sacred geography is revealed by divine explanation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prayāga—specifically the hidden/gupta Prayāga associated with Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this verse frames a question initiating the māhātmya narrative.