Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 95

Devanagari script

दग्ध्वा कृतस्मरं देवी पुनरादाय वाडवम् । समुद्रस्य समीपस्था स्थिता हृष्टत नूरुहा

Transliteration

dagdhvā kṛtasmaraṃ devī punarādāya vāḍavam | samudrasya samīpasthā sthitā hṛṣṭata nūruhā

Translation

焚尽克利特斯摩罗之后，女神又摄取伐陀婆——海底之火。她立于海滨，肢体纤秀，欢喜安住于彼处。

Word by Word

• दग्ध्वा: having burnt
• दग्ध्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier of main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वकाले कृत्य (having done)

• कृतस्मरम्: Kṛtasmar(a) (one whose love/desire was affected; name/epithet)
• कृतस्मरम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत (कृ धातु) + स्मर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (कृतः स्मरः यस्य तत्/‘whose love is made/affected’)

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

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• आदाय: having taken
• आदाय: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund), ‘having taken’

• वाडवम्: the Vāḍava (submarine fire/being)
• वाडवम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाडव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• समुद्रस्य: of the ocean
• समुद्रस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• समीपस्था: standing near
• समीपस्था: Karta-anvaya (Predicate adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समीप (प्रातिपदिक) + स्था (धातु/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (समीपे स्थिता)

• स्थिता: stood
• स्थिता: Karta-anvaya (Predicate/State of subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past Passive Participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘stood/was standing’

• हृष्टता: delighted
• हृष्टता: Karta-anvaya (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हृष् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (PPP) रूपेण; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘delighted’

• नूरुहा: without hair standing (i.e., composed; lit. ‘not thigh-hairy’)
• नूरुहा: Karta-anvaya (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: न (अव्यय) + ऊरुहा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष/नञ्-समास (न ऊरुहा = ‘not having hair standing on thighs’; idiomatic)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ocean-adjacent Sarasvatī/Vāḍava episode spot (within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Addressed ‘surasundari’ within the narrative frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic moment: Sarasvatī’s tejas burns a dark, personified figure ‘Kṛtasmara’ into ash; she then lifts a glowing, contained vāḍava flame. She stands by the sea, slender and radiant, smiling in relief as waves roll behind.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (Goddess)
• Kṛtasmara
• Vāḍava (submarine fire)
• Samudra (ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine power subdues and transforms forces associated with desire and heat, then relocates them into their proper cosmic place for the world’s balance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ocean vicinity within the Prabhāsa sacred region, where the Vāḍava fire is handled as part of the kṣetra’s mythic sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; it narrates a mythic act involving Vāḍava fire near the ocean.