Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

अप्तत्त्वे संस्थितं देवि विष्णोराद्यकलेवरे । इति ते कथितं देवि संक्षेपात्क्षेत्रकारणम्

Transliteration

aptattve saṃsthitaṃ devi viṣṇorādyakalevare | iti te kathitaṃ devi saṃkṣepātkṣetrakāraṇam

Translation

噢，女神啊，此圣地安立于“水之本原”（ap-tattva）之中，依止于毗湿奴的原初形体。是故，噢，女神，我已略说此圣域（kṣetra）之缘起因由。

Word by Word

• ap-tattve: in the water-element
• ap-tattve: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ap + tattva (अप् + तत्त्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘अपां तत्त्वम्’/‘जलतत्त्वम्’); अधिकरणार्थे

• saṃsthitam: situated, established
• saṃsthitam: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃ-sthā (स्था धातु) + kta (क्त-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (situated/established)

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (देवी; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• viṣṇoḥ: of Viṣṇu
• viṣṇoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (विष्णु; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• ādya-kalevare: in the primordial body
• ādya-kalevare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādya + kalevara (आद्य + कलेवर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘आद्यं कलेवरम्’); अधिकरणार्थे

• iti: thus
• iti: Avyaya (Quotative/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (इति; अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरणार्थक निपात

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (त्वद्; सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (to you/for you—contextually dative sense though form is genitive)

• kathitam: told, explained
• kathitam: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kath (कथ् धातु) + kta (क्त-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (told)

• devi: O goddess
• devi: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (देवी; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• saṃkṣepāt: briefly, in summary
• saṃkṣepāt: Avyaya (Adverbial ablative/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkṣepa (संक्षेप; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; अपादानार्थे/क्रियाविशेषणार्थे (briefly)

• kṣetra-kāraṇam: the cause/reason of the sacred place
• kṣetra-kāraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra + kāraṇa (क्षेत्र + कारण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘क्षेत्रस्य कारणम्’)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa Kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva explains to Devī that Prabhāsa’s kṣetra-cause is established in ap-tattva and in Viṣṇu’s primordial body; a cosmic seascape with luminous waters and a subtle Nārāyaṇa-form behind the discourse.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Ap-tattva (Water principle)
• Prabhāsa Kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrthas are rooted in cosmic principles: sacred waters (ap) and divine embodiment (Viṣṇu) underwrite the sanctity of place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra—its sanctity is linked to ap-tattva and Viṣṇu’s primordial form.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse concludes an explanatory summary of the kṣetra’s origin.