Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

सुरूपं जायतां तेषां दुर्ल्लभं त्रिदशैरपि । मां नय त्वं सहस्राक्ष सुरावासं सुराधिप

Transliteration

surūpaṃ jāyatāṃ teṣāṃ durllabhaṃ tridaśairapi | māṃ naya tvaṃ sahasrākṣa surāvāsaṃ surādhipa

Translation

愿他们得获光辉妙丽之相——此乃三十三天众亦难得者。噫，千眼之主、诸天之王，请引我往诸天的天宫圣住。

Word by Word

• surūpam: good form/beauty
• surūpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय (predicate) अर्थे

• jāyatām: let (it) be born / let them obtain
• jāyatām: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• durllabham: hard to obtain
• durllabham: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• tridaśaiḥ: by the thirty gods
• tridaśaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tridaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-निपात (even/also)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• naya: lead (take)
• naya: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nī (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sahasrākṣa: O thousand-eyed one
• sahasrākṣa: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: सहस्रम् अक्षाणि यस्य (epithet of Indra)

• surāvāsam: the abode of the gods
• surāvāsam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + āvāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: सुराणाम् आवासः

• surādhipa: O lord of the gods
• surādhipa: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + adhipa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

Speaker

Nāri (a woman, addressing Indra)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The woman petitions Indra: grant radiant beauty to the observers and escort her to the deva-abode; Indra stands as ‘Sahasrākṣa’ with celestial splendor, suggesting imminent ascent.

Characters & Entities

• Sahasrākṣa (Indra)
• Tridaśa (the devas)
• Sura-āvāsa (heaven)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred merit can transform one’s destiny—granting rare excellence (surūpa) and access to higher realms when aligned with dharma and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate verse focuses on the heavenly fruit; the associated tīrtha/jalāśaya is established in the same adhyāya’s surrounding description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not a new rite here; it continues the promised fruit (surūpa, deva-loka) resulting from the earlier Māgha-śukla-tṛtīyā snāna.