Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

अतीतेषु च देवेशि ब्रह्मसुप्तलयादनु । बभूवुर्यानि नामानि तानि त्वं शृणु पार्वति

Transliteration

atīteṣu ca deveśi brahmasuptalayādanu | babhūvuryāni nāmāni tāni tvaṃ śṛṇu pārvati

Translation

并且，噢天女——在梵天“沉睡”之后随之而来的诸次坏灭之后——凡往昔诸周期中于普拉婆娑（Prabhāsa）所显现的主之名号，今请聆听吧，噢帕尔瓦蒂（Pārvatī）。

Word by Word

• atīteṣu: when (they) had passed
• atīteṣu: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati + i (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि/PPP) ‘अतीत’ = passed; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय)

• deveśi: O Lady of the gods
• deveśi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deveśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• brahmasuptalayāt: from the dissolution (during) Brahmā's sleep
• brahmasuptalayāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahma (प्रातिपदिक) + supta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + laya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (brahma-supta-laya = dissolution during Brahmā's sleep), पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• anu: after
• anu: Sambandha (Sequence/अनु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनुगमन/after; preposition)

• babhūvuḥ: came to be
• babhūvuḥ: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• yāni: which
• yāni: Karta (Relative subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (relative pronoun)

• nāmāni: names
• nāmāni: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• tāni: those
• tāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (correlative pronoun)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Listener/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• śṛṇu: listen
• śṛṇu: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• pārvati: O Pārvatī
• pārvati: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (addressing Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Parvatī sits in attentive śravaṇa as Śiva prepares to enumerate ancient epithets; behind them, a symbolic ‘sleep of Brahmā’ and dissolving worlds fade into a calm void.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Pārvatī
• Brahmā
• Pralaya (dissolution)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred tradition preserves divine epithets across cosmic time, guiding devotees to recognize the Lord’s eternal presence in a specific holy geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where the Lord is praised through multiple time-bound names.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it introduces a doctrinal list (nāma-kathana) rather than a vrata or dāna.