Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

आयामव्यासतश्चैव आदिमध्यान्तसंस्थितम् । पूर्वे तप्तोदक स्वामी पश्चिमे माधवः स्मृतः

Transliteration

āyāmavyāsataścaiva ādimadhyāntasaṃsthitam | pūrve taptodaka svāmī paścime mādhavaḥ smṛtaḥ

Translation

Theo chiều dài và chiều rộng, với phần đầu, phần giữa và phần cuối được an lập đúng đắn, thánh địa này được định như sau: phía Đông là Taptodaka Svāmī, phía Tây ghi nhớ Mādhava (làm mốc giới).

Word by Word

• आयामव्यासतः: by length and breadth
• आयामव्यासतः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आयाम + व्यास (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (आयामश्च व्यासश्च) + तसिल्-प्रत्यय (तः); अव्यय (adverb): 'in terms of length and breadth'

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• एव: indeed; just
• एव: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• आदि-मध्य-अन्त-संस्थितम्: situated at the beginning, middle, and end
• आदि-मध्य-अन्त-संस्थितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आदि + मध्य + अन्त + संस्थित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; (आदि-मध्य-अन्त) इति द्वन्द्व + 'संस्थित' (सम्+स्था + क्त) अर्थे: 'situated at beginning, middle, and end'

• पूर्वे: in the east
• पूर्वे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; locative singular: 'in the east'

• तप्तोदकः: Taptodaka (Hot-water [tīrtha])
• तप्तोदकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तप्त + उदक (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: 'तप्तम् उदकम्' (hot-water [tīrtha]) used as a proper name

• स्वामी: Svāmī (lord; name/title)
• स्वामी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वामिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; nominative singular

• पश्चिमे: in the west
• पश्चिमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पश्चिम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; locative singular: 'in the west'

• माधवः: Mādhava (name of Viṣṇu)
• माधवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माधव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; nominative singular

• स्मृतः: is known/considered
• स्मृतः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; past passive participle: 'is considered/known'

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (dik-maryādā: Taptodaka Svāmī—Mādhava)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A schematic sacred map: the kṣetra shown as a rectangle/mandala with labeled eastern shrine ‘Taptodaka Svāmī’ and western shrine ‘Mādhava’, with a central axis indicating ‘ādi-madhya-anta’.

Characters & Entities

• Taptodaka Svāmī
• Mādhava
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are not abstract; their holiness is mapped through named tīrthas and deities, guiding pilgrims to approach the kṣetra with reverence and clarity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, with boundary points marked by Taptodaka Svāmī (east) and Mādhava (west).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse establishes pilgrimage-boundaries for proper kṣetra-parikramā and tīrtha-orientation.