Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

देव्युवाच । कथं कुण्डलरूपं तु पृथिव्यां ख्यातिमागतम् । एतत्कथय मे देव विस्तराद्वदतां वर

Transliteration

devyuvāca | kathaṃ kuṇḍalarūpaṃ tu pṛthivyāṃ khyātimāgatam | etatkathaya me deva vistarādvadatāṃ vara

Translation

女神说道：“此名为‘库ṇḍ罗’、呈耳环之形者，如何在大地上得享盛名？请告知我，噢神明，善说者之最，当为我详述。”

Word by Word

• देवी: the Goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Kriya-visheshana (Interrogative adverb/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: “how”)

• कुण्डलरूपम्: the earring-form
• कुण्डलरूपम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍala + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (kuṇḍala-rūpa = “earring-form”)

• तु: indeed / but
• तु: Discourse (सम्बन्धसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (contrast/emphasis particle)

• पृथिव्याम्: on earth
• पृथिव्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛthivī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• ख्यातिम्: fame
• ख्यातिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khyāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• आगतम्: having attained (become)
• आगतम्: Kriya (Predicative participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + √gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कुण्डलरूपम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• कथय: tell
• कथय: Kriya (Command/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kath (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मे: to me
• मे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचन-रूप (Genitive/Dative singular enclitic: “to me / of me”)

• देव: O God
• देव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• विस्तरात्: in detail
• विस्तरात्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी-एकवचन-रूपेण क्रियाविशेषण (ablative used adverbially: “in detail/at length”)

• वदताम्: of speakers
• वदताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vad (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; “of those who speak”

• वर: O best (one)
• वर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Devī (Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kuṇḍala (earring-form) tīrtha (as named in the narrative)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Īśvara (Śiva)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī respectfully questions Īśvara about a famed ‘Kuṇḍala’—a ring/earring-shaped sacred spot—setting the stage for a detailed origin legend.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (Pārvatī)
• Deva (Śiva)
• Kuṇḍala (as tīrtha-name/theme)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places have revelatory origin-stories; inquiry (praśna) becomes a doorway to understanding tīrtha-dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kuṇḍalasaṃbhava / the Kuṇḍala-associated tīrtha within Prabhāsa Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this is a request for the tīrtha’s origin narrative.