Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

तिष्ठन्ति पितरः सर्वे सर्वतीर्थाधिकं ततः । स्थिता ब्रह्मशिला तत्र गजकुम्भनिभा नृप

Transliteration

tiṣṭhanti pitaraḥ sarve sarvatīrthādhikaṃ tataḥ | sthitā brahmaśilā tatra gajakumbhanibhā nṛpa

Translation

هناك يقيم جميع الـ«بيتْر»؛ ولذلك يفوق ذلك الموضع سائر التيـرثات. وهناك تقوم «براهمَشِلا» أي صخرة براهما، أيها الملك، شبيهة بجبهة الفيل المستديرة.

Word by Word

• तिष्ठन्ति: stand, remain
• तिष्ठन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• पितरः: ancestors
• पितरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• सर्वतीर्थाधिकम्: superior to all pilgrimage places
• सर्वतीर्थाधिकम्: Karma/Predicative (Object/Complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + तीर्थ + अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; विशेषण—'सर्वतीर्थेभ्यः अधिकम्' (superior to all tīrthas)

• ततः: therefore, from that
• ततः: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय/तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/ततः—अपादान/हेतुवाचक (therefore/from that)

• स्थिता: situated, standing
• स्थिता: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकाले कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; 'स्थित' = standing/placed

• ब्रह्मशिला: the Brahma-stone (sacred rock)
• ब्रह्मशिला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + शिला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—'ब्रह्मणः शिला'

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• गजकुम्भनिभा: resembling an elephant’s temple (forehead)
• गजकुम्भनिभा: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गज + कुम्भ + निभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; उपमान-तत्पुरुषः—'गजकुम्भवत् निभा' (elephant-temple-like)

• नृप: O king
• नृप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Deductive (Revā Khaṇḍa narrator addressing a king; tīrtha-description mode)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahmaśilā-tīrtha (Gayāśiras-associated)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A prominent rounded stone (Brahmaśilā) on the riverbank, shaped like an elephant’s forehead; unseen pitṛs gather around it while a king listens to the narration of its supremacy.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Brahmaśilā
• Narmadā (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha becomes supreme when the Pitṛs are especially accessible there; sacred markers like Brahmaśilā signify intensified spiritual potency.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā tīrtha-region, specifically a locale marked by the Brahmaśilā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not explicit here, but the context indicates pitṛ rites (piṇḍa and udaka offerings) performed at/near Brahmaśilā.