Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

नित्यं च कारणं देवं मखघ्नं सर्वतोमुखम् । शिवं सर्वात्मकं सूक्ष्ममनाद्यं यच्च दैवतम्

Transliteration

nityaṃ ca kāraṇaṃ devaṃ makhaghnaṃ sarvatomukham | śivaṃ sarvātmakaṃ sūkṣmamanādyaṃ yacca daivatam

Translation

Hãy biết Thần tính ấy là thường hằng và chính là Nhân tối sơ—Śiva, Đấng diệt trừ tế lễ kiêu mạn, hướng mặt về mọi phương; là Tự ngã của muôn loài, vi tế, vô thủy—Chân Thần được tôn thờ tại Prabhāsa.

Word by Word

• nityam: eternal
• nityam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन (as epithet in apposition)

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

• kāraṇam: cause
• kāraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; ‘cause’ (as epithet)

• devam: the god
• devam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• makhaghanam: destroyer of sacrifices (makha)
• makhaghanam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: makha + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (मखं हन्ति/मखस्य घ्नः); पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• sarvato-mukham: having faces on all sides; all-faced
• sarvato-mukham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarvatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (सर्वतः मुखम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• śivam: Śiva
• śivam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• sarvātmakam: all-souled, consisting of all
• sarvātmakam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva + ātmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सर्वः आत्मा यस्य/सर्वात्मा); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• sūkṣmam: subtle
• sūkṣmam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sūkṣma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• anādyam: beginningless
• anādyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: an-ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नञ्-पूर्वक; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• yat: which/that (also)
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; relative pronoun

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

• daivatam: the deity, divine being
• daivatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daivata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

Speaker

Deductive (Prabhāsa-māhātmya context): a narrator addressing a divine lady (likely Śiva/Skanda’s discourse within the māhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Śiva as the worshipped Godhead there)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic Śiva presence implied through an aniconic liṅga and a mandala of faces/directions; sacrificial fire subdued, indicating ‘makhaghna’; the universe reflected in Śiva’s subtle radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Prabhāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is described as the eternal, beginningless cause and the all-pervading subtle reality—worthy of realization beyond mere outward ritual pride.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa kṣetra (Prabhāsa), celebrated as a place where Śiva’s supreme nature is to be known.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the emphasis is doctrinal—recognition of Śiva’s supreme, all-faced, all-pervading nature.