Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

स्थितं महाप्रभावं हि वाडवेन प्रतिष्ठितम् । कृतस्मरो यदा दग्धः पर्वतो वाडवाग्निना

Transliteration

sthitaṃ mahāprabhāvaṃ hi vāḍavena pratiṣṭhitam | kṛtasmaro yadā dagdhaḥ parvato vāḍavāgninā

Translation

此林伽威德广大，为瓦达瓦所安立。昔日克利塔斯摩罗被焚——群山为瓦达瓦之火所吞噬之时——此圣迹遂名闻于世。

Word by Word

• sthitam: situated, standing
• sthitam: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthita (कृदन्त; स्था धातोः क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP)

• mahāprabhāvam: of great power
• mahāprabhāvam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā-prabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः

• hi: indeed, for
• hi: Emphasis/Reason (निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (निपात)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ-निपात

• vāḍavena: by Vāḍava
• vāḍavena: Karana (Instrument/Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāḍava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• pratiṣṭhitam: established
• pratiṣṭhitam: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prati-ṣṭhita (कृदन्त; स्था धातोः क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP)

• kṛtasmarah: Kṛtasmarā (name/person)
• kṛtasmarah: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta-smara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कृतः स्मरः यस्य/कृतस्मरः—नाम)

• yadā: when
• yadā: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (when)

• dagdhaḥ: burnt
• dagdhaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dagdha (कृदन्त; दह् धातोः क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP)

• parvataḥ: the mountain
• parvataḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• vāḍavāgninā: by the Vāḍava fire
• vāḍavāgninā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāḍava-agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (वाडवस्य अग्निः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice; not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vāḍaveśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A mythic flashback: Vāḍava establishes a powerful liṅga after a catastrophic ‘Vāḍava fire’ burns Kṛtasmarā and consumes a mountain, leaving a sanctified, leveled terrain.

Characters & Entities

• Vāḍava
• Kṛtasmarā
• Vāḍavāgni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It presents the liṅga as a potent, divinely grounded presence whose sanctity is tied to a cosmic event, teaching reverence for sacred sites formed through extraordinary dharmic history.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vāḍaveśvara in Prabhāsa Kṣetra (within the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly in this verse; it primarily narrates the origin-context and greatness of the liṅga.