Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । इत्येवमुक्ते विप्रेंद्रा शंकरेण महात्मना । पुनः पप्रच्छ सा देवी हर्षसंपूर्णमानसा

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | ityevamukte vipreṃdrā śaṃkareṇa mahātmanā | punaḥ papraccha sā devī harṣasaṃpūrṇamānasā

Translation

苏多说道：当大心的商羯罗如是说毕，婆罗门中的至上者啊，女神心满欢喜，又再一次向他发问。

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इत्यादि-निर्देशक-अव्यय (quotative)

• evam: in this way
• evam: Kriya-Visheshana (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: thus)

• ukte: when (this) was said
• ukte: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ukta (कृदन्त; √vac (धातु) + kta)
• Form: सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन, नपुंसकलिङ्ग; लोकेटिव-अब्सोल्यूट (when it was said)

• vipra-indrā: O best of Brahmins
• vipra-indrā: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय (विप्राणाम् इन्द्राः = best of Brahmins); पुल्लिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th case), बहुवचन

• śaṃkareṇa: by Śaṅkara
• śaṃkareṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन (करण/कर्तृ-निर्देश)

• mahātmanā: by the great-souled one
• mahātmanā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahātman (प्रातिपदिक: mahā + ātman)
• Form: कर्मधारय (महान् आत्मा यस्य); पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; विशेषण (śaṃkareṇa)

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Kriya-Visheshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरावृत्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (again)

• papraccha: asked
• papraccha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √prach (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• devī: the Goddess
• devī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• harṣa-saṃpūrṇa-mānasā: whose mind was full of joy
• harṣa-saṃpūrṇa-mānasā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: harṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃpūrṇa (कृदन्त; √pṝ (धातु) + kta) + mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (हर्षेण सम्पूर्णं मानसं यस्याः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; विशेषण (devī)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta narrates to assembled sages; the scene shifts to Devī, delighted, turning again to Śaṅkara to ask for further detail—an intimate, reverent teaching moment.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic wisdom is transmitted through dialogue—devotion and curiosity lead to deeper revelation about sacred places.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing subject is Prabhāsa-kṣetra, introduced as the focus of the next inquiry.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a narrative bridge indicating continuation of teaching.