Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

पूर्वोत्तरे समे देशे कृत्वा वेदिं च मंडपम् । मध्ये चाष्टदलं पद्मं गृह्यसूत्रं प्रयोजयेत्

Transliteration

pūrvottare same deśe kṛtvā vediṃ ca maṃḍapam | madhye cāṣṭadalaṃ padmaṃ gṛhyasūtraṃ prayojayet

Translation

在东北方平坦之地，应建坛（vedi）与曼荼罗亭（maṇḍapa）；并于中央布置八瓣莲华，依《家祭经》（gṛhya-sūtra）之仪则施行。

Word by Word

• पूर्वोत्तरे: in the east-north (northeast)
• पूर्वोत्तरे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व + उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; दिक्-विशेषण (देशे)

• समे: level; even
• समे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; विशेषण (देशे)

• देशे: in a place
• देशे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• कृत्वा: having made
• कृत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• वेदिम्: altar; platform
• वेदिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• मण्डपम्: pavilion
• मण्डपम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मण्डप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• अष्टदलम्: eight-petalled
• अष्टदलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्ट + दल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (पद्मम्)

• पद्मम्: lotus (diagram)
• पद्मम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• गृह्यसूत्रम्: Gṛhya-sūtra (domestic ritual manual)
• गृह्यसूत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह्य + सूत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• प्रयोजयेत्: should apply/arrange; should employ
• प्रयोजयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + युज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa (broad setting); rite-space within the kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: bhūpati (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A purified level ground oriented to the northeast; a newly built vedi and a simple maṇḍapa; at the center an eight-petalled lotus diagram laid out for worship, with ritual implements arranged symmetrically.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṇeśa
• Vedi
• Maṇḍapa
• Aṣṭadala Padma
• Gṛhya-sūtra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is grounded in disciplined form—proper sacred space and diagrammatic order support the rite’s intended harmony (śānti).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction belongs to the Arbuda Khaṇḍa’s Vināyaka tradition; it describes the ritual space arrangement rather than naming a new tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prepare a northeast, level ritual area; build vedi and maṇḍapa; place an aṣṭadala-padma in the center; follow gṛhya-sūtra method.