Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

यत्र सिद्धः पुरा देवि जरानामा तु कौलिकः । विष्णुहंता भल्लतीर्थे सोऽस्मिन्स्थाने लयं गतः

Transliteration

yatra siddhaḥ purā devi jarānāmā tu kaulikaḥ | viṣṇuhaṃtā bhallatīrthe so'sminsthāne layaṃ gataḥ

Translation

女神啊，正是在此处，往昔有一位成就者名为“阇罗”，按种姓为织工；他曾在婆罗提尔塔杀害毗湿奴，而在此地此点证入消融归一（laya）。

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक देशवाचक (relative locative adverb)

• सिद्धः: a siddha (accomplished being)
• सिद्धः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• देवि: O goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• जरानामा: named Jarā
• जरानामा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक) + नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (named Jarā), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; (सिद्धस्य विशेषणम्)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/अन्वयार्थक (particle: 'but/indeed')

• कौलिकः: a weaver (kaulika)
• कौलिकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौलिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; (व्यवसायवाचक)

• विष्णुहंता: slayer of Viṣṇu
• विष्णुहंता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक) + हन्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (slayer of Viṣṇu), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; (कौलिकस्य विशेषणम्)

• भल्लतीर्थे: at Bhallatīrtha
• भल्लतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भल्ल (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष (Bhallatīrtha), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (सामान्य), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• स्थाने: place
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• लयम्: dissolution/absorption
• लयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• गतः: went/attained
• गतः: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle used predicatively), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; (गतोऽभवत्)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhallatīrtha (Prabhāsa-kṣetra)

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Jarā, described here as a siddha and a weaver by caste, stands at Bhallatīrtha in remorseful stillness; the sacred landscape absorbs him into laya, suggesting a dissolving aura into the kṣetra’s light.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Jarā
• Viṣṇu
• Bhallatīrtha
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even grave actions become framed within sacred geography: Prabhāsa and its tīrthas are presented as places where karmic narratives culminate and beings reach dissolution/merging.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bhallatīrtha within Prabhāsa-kṣetra is explicitly named and linked to a decisive Purāṇic event.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed in this verse; it establishes the tīrtha’s narrative sanctity.