Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

कात्यायनीति दुर्गेति विविधैर्नामपर्ययैः । नवकोटिप्रभेदेन जातासि वसुधातले

Transliteration

kātyāyanīti durgeti vividhairnāmaparyayaiḥ | navakoṭiprabhedena jātāsi vasudhātale

Translation

或名迦底耶尼（Kātyāyanī），或名杜尔迦（Durgā），以无数异名流转；你在大地之上示现，差别广至九俱胝（koṭi）——不可胜数的千万形相。

Word by Word

• कात्यायनी: (named) Kātyāyanī
• कात्यायनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कात्यायनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; इति-शब्देन नामनिर्देशः (as a name in quotation)

• इति: thus; as (the name)
• इति: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/नामनिर्देशक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• दुर्गा: (named) Durgā
• दुर्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; इति-शब्देन नामनिर्देशः

• इति: thus; as (the name)
• इति: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/नामनिर्देशक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• विविधैः: by various
• विविधैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विविध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (instrumental plural)

• नामपर्ययैः: by name-variants/synonyms
• नामपर्ययैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाम-पर्यय (प्रातिपदिक); नाम (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्यय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (name-synonyms)

• नवकोटिप्रभेदेन: by a division into nine crores (of forms)
• नवकोटिप्रभेदेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नव-कोटि-प्रभेद (प्रातिपदिक); नव (संख्या) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रभेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; संख्या-विशिष्ट-तत्पुरुषः (nine-crore-fold division)

• जातासि: you are born/you have arisen
• जातासि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; रूपम्: जातासि (periphrastic/idiomatic ‘you are born/you have arisen’)

• वसुधातले: on the surface of the earth
• वसुधातले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुधा-तल (प्रातिपदिक); वसुधा (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरणम् (locative)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A litany-like proclamation: Devī appears on earth in innumerable variants—Kātyāyanī, Durgā, and countless other names—suggesting a mandala of forms radiating from one source.

Characters & Entities

• Kātyāyanī
• Durgā
• Devī
• Earth (Vasudhā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devī is one yet accessible through innumerable names and forms, meeting devotees according to their needs and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra’s māhātmya context frames the teaching, linking sacred place with remembrance of Devī’s many forms.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse supports nāma-smaraṇa (remembrance of divine names) as a devotional approach.