Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

महासिद्धिवनं तत्र ऋषिसिद्धसमावृतम् । नानाद्रुमलताकीर्णं पर्वतैरुपशोभितम्

Transliteration

mahāsiddhivanaṃ tatra ṛṣisiddhasamāvṛtam | nānādrumalatākīrṇaṃ parvatairupaśobhitam

Translation

其处有一片“大神通之林”，众多圣仙与成就者（悉地者）环绕其间。林中诸树藤蔓繁茂，四周群山映衬，更显庄严秀丽。

Word by Word

• mahāsiddhivanam: the great grove of siddhis (Mahāsiddhivana)
• mahāsiddhivanam: Karta/Pratipādya (Subject/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-siddhi-vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• ṛṣisiddhasamāvṛtam: surrounded by sages and siddhas
• ṛṣisiddhasamāvṛtam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṛṣi-siddha-samāvṛta (प्रातिपदिक; सम्-आ-√वृ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि (past passive participle)

• nānādrumalatākīrṇam: strewn with various trees and creepers
• nānādrumalatākīrṇam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā-druma-latā-kīrṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √kṝ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

• parvataiḥ: by mountains
• parvataiḥ: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental); बहुवचन

• upaśobhitam: adorned
• upaśobhitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: upa-√śubh (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (continued narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāsiddhivana (Prabhāsa-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast sacred forest called Mahāsiddhivana: dense trees and creepers, ringed by gentle mountains; clusters of ascetics and luminous siddhas seated in meditation, with hermitages and smoke from sacrificial fires faintly visible.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis
• Siddhas
• Mahāsiddhivana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are depicted as living spiritual ecosystems—where nature and realized beings together signal the presence of extraordinary sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Mahāsiddhivana within the Devikā/Kāmika sacred region near Ṛṣi-tīrtha in Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; it is a māhātmya-style description of the sacred forest environment.