Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

वस्त्रापथं महादेवं महाकालं तथैव च । भूतेश्वरं भस्मगात्रं सोमनाथमुमापतिम्

Transliteration

vastrāpathaṃ mahādevaṃ mahākālaṃ tathaiva ca | bhūteśvaraṃ bhasmagātraṃ somanāthamumāpatim

Translation

瓦斯特拉帕塔（Vastrāpatha）、大天（Mahādeva）与大时（Mahākāla）；又有众生主（Bhūteśvara）——身披圣灰之主；以及苏摩那他（Somanātha），乌玛（Umā）之夫。

Word by Word

• वस्त्रापथम्: Vastrāpatha (place-name)
• वस्त्रापथम्: Karta (Listed subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक) + पथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (वस्त्राणां पथः/वस्त्र-पथ); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन; सूचीकरणे

• महादेवम्: Mahādeva
• महादेवम्: Karta (Listed subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महान् देवः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन; सूचीकरणे

• महाकालम्: Mahākāla
• महाकालम्: Karta (Listed subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (पूर्वपद) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महान् कालः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन; सूचीकरणे

• तथा: also
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/तुल्यतासूचक

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

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

• भूतेश्वरम्: Bhūteśvara
• भूतेश्वरम्: Karta (Listed subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (भूतानाम् ईश्वरः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन; सूचीकरणे

• भस्मगात्रम्: (the one) with ash-covered body
• भस्मगात्रम्: Karta (Listed subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भस्म (प्रातिपदिक) + गात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (भस्म गात्रे यस्य सः; ‘whose body is (smeared with) ash’); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन; सूचीकरणे

• सोमनाथम्: Somanātha
• सोमनाथम्: Karta (Listed subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम (प्रातिपदिक) + नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सोमस्य नाथः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन; सूचीकरणे

• उमापतिम्: Umāpati (husband of Umā)
• उमापतिम्: Karta (Listed subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उमा (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (उमायाः पतिः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन; सूचीकरणे

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Dvārakā Māhātmya narration style within Skanda Purāṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Somnātha (Prabhāsa) and Mahākāla (Avantī/Ujjain) invoked within the Dvārakā praise

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A procession of liṅgas and Śiva-epithets: Mahākāla in Ujjain’s nocturnal aura, Somnātha by the sea, Bhūteśvara amid attendants of bhūtas; ash-clad Śiva stands serene, crescent moon shining.

Characters & Entities

• Vastrāpatha
• Mahādeva
• Mahākāla
• Bhūteśvara
• Bhasmagātra
• Somanātha
• Umāpati (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Remembering Śiva’s revered names and seats is presented as a devotional map—linking theology (Śiva’s epithets) to sacred places (kṣetras).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Somanātha is explicitly invoked, along with other named Śiva-kṣetras such as Vastrāpatha and the Mahākāla tradition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is commanded; the verse functions as a litany of Śiva’s sacred manifestations and shrines.