Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

कथं वात्र समायाता कुतश्चापि सरस्वती । कथं स वाडवो जातः कस्मिन्काले कथं ह्यभूत् । तत्सर्वं विस्तरेणेदं यथावद्वक्तुमर्हसि

Transliteration

kathaṃ vātra samāyātā kutaścāpi sarasvatī | kathaṃ sa vāḍavo jātaḥ kasminkāle kathaṃ hyabhūt | tatsarvaṃ vistareṇedaṃ yathāvadvaktumarhasi

Translation

“萨拉斯瓦蒂如何来到此处，她从何方而来？那瓦陀婆（Vāḍava，海底之火）如何诞生——在何时、以何因缘而成？愿你如实而详尽地为我宣说这一切。”

Word by Word

• katham: how
• katham: Question marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय

• vā: or/indeed
• vā: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive/alternative particle)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय

• samāyātā: came/arrived
• samāyātā: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + ā + yā (धातु) → samāyāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि (agreeing with sarasvatī)

• kutaḥ: from where
• kutaḥ: Question marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: from where)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• api: also
• api: Emphasis/Addition
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावन/अपि-कारक (particle: also/even)

• sarasvatī: Sarasvatī (river/goddess)
• sarasvatī: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• katham: how
• katham: Question marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय

• saḥ: he/that (one)
• saḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• vāḍavaḥ: the Vāḍava (submarine fire/being)
• vāḍavaḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāḍava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• jātaḥ: was born/arose
• jātaḥ: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु) → jāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि

• kasmin: in which
• kasmin: Adhikarana (Locative question)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (किम्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; प्रश्न-सर्वनाम

• kāle: time
• kāle: Adhikarana (Time locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• katham: how
• katham: Question marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय

• hi: indeed
• hi: Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• abhūt: became/was
• abhūt: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist/Imperfect past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object of vaktum)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying tat)

• vistareṇa: in detail
• vistareṇa: Karana (Manner)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; ‘in detail’ (instrumental of manner)

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (Apposition to tat sarvam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• yathāvat: properly
• yathāvat: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: रीतिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: properly, as it should be)

• vaktum: to tell
• vaktum: Prayojana (Purpose complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु) → vaktum (तुमुन्-कृदन्त)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), अव्ययभावः; ‘to speak’

• arhasi: you ought/are fit
• arhasi: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: arh (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Pārvatī (Devī) (deduced from Śiva addressing 'devi' next)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Sarasvatī-sannidhya; vāḍava-agni sambandha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śiva

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī asks a sequence of precise questions: Sarasvatī’s arrival, her origin, and the birth of the vāḍava fire—framed as a cosmic-geographic mystery over the sea-facing Prabhāsa landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Vāḍava (Vāḍavāgni)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverent inquiry into tīrtha-origins is presented as a dhārmic act that leads to correct understanding of sacred geography and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra (Prabhāsa), within the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it opens the narrative by requesting the authoritative origin-story.