Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

देवादेशात्प्रभासस्य पुरतः संस्थिता तदा । समुद्रमाहूय तदा वाडवार्पणकांक्षिणी

Transliteration

devādeśātprabhāsasya purataḥ saṃsthitā tadā | samudramāhūya tadā vāḍavārpaṇakāṃkṣiṇī

Translation

奉诸天之命，她当时立于普罗婆娑之前；召唤大海，愿将瓦陀婆之火作为供品托付于他。

Word by Word

• देव-आदेशात्: from the command of the gods
• देव-आदेशात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + आदेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular); ‘देवानाम् आदेशः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• प्रभासस्य: of Prabhāsa
• प्रभासस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• पुरतः: in front (of)
• पुरतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb of place)

• संस्थिता: stood/was stationed
• संस्थिता: Kriya (State/action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (Past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); ‘सा’ (अनुक्ता) इत्यस्य विशेषण/विधेय

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

• समुद्रम्: the ocean
• समुद्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• आहूय: having summoned
• आहूय: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-ह्वे (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्यय-प्रयोग

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

• वाडव-अर्पण-काङ्क्षिणी: desiring to consign the Vaḍava (fire) (to the ocean)
• वाडव-अर्पण-काङ्क्षिणी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वाडव (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्पण (प्रातिपदिक) + काङ्क्षिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); ‘वाडवस्य अर्पणम्’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष, तद् काङ्क्षति इति उपपद-समासार्थः; ‘सा’ (अनुक्ता) इत्यस्य विशेषण

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Contextual) interlocutor(s) in the māhātmya dialogue

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sarasvatī stands facing the sea ‘before Prabhāsa,’ invoking the Ocean as a vast personified deity rising from waves; she prepares to consign the Vāḍava fire as an offering, with devas’ command hovering as a divine mandate.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa (Prabhāsakṣetra)
• Sarasvatī
• Ocean (Samudra)
• Devas
• Vāḍava (Vāḍavānala)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places become stages where divine commands are enacted—aligning personal action with cosmic responsibility.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra (Prabhāsa) is explicitly named as the locus where the offering to the ocean is arranged.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies an ‘arpaṇa’ (handing over/offering) motif, but it is mythic-narrative rather than a human ritual instruction.