Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

तथैव पार्थ तीर्थानां शुक्लतीर्थमनुत्तमम् । दुर्विज्ञेयो यथा लोके परमात्मा सनातनः

Transliteration

tathaiva pārtha tīrthānāṃ śuklatīrthamanuttamam | durvijñeyo yathā loke paramātmā sanātanaḥ

Translation

وكذلك، يا ابنَ پṛثā، بينَ التيـرثاتِ (tīrtha) فإنَّ شُكْلَتيرثا (Śuklatīrtha) لا يُضاهى؛ غيرَ أنّه عسيرُ التعرّف، كما أنّ الذاتَ العُليا الأزلية (Paramātman) صعبةُ الإدراك في هذا العالم.

Word by Word

• तथा: thus
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb ‘thus’

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle) = emphatic ‘indeed/just’

• पार्थ: O son of Pṛthā (Arjuna)
• पार्थ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन = vocative singular

• तीर्थानाम्: of the sacred places
• तीर्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन = genitive plural

• शुक्लतीर्थम्: Śukla-tīrtha
• शुक्लतीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्ल + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन = accusative singular; समासः कर्मधारय-तत्पुरुष (शुक्लं तीर्थम्)

• अनुत्तमम्: unsurpassed
• अनुत्तमम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (शुक्लतीर्थम्) = adjective agreeing with object

• दुर्विज्ञेयः: hard to know
• दुर्विज्ञेयः: Karta (Predicate nominative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर् + विज्ञेय (√ज्ञा धातु; कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम्; ‘विज्ञेय’ = gerundive (तव्यत्/यत्-प्रत्यय), with उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद ‘दुर्’

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमान/तुलना-बोधक) = comparative ‘as/just as’

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन = locative singular

• परमात्मा: the Supreme Self
• परमात्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन = nominative singular; समासः कर्मधारय-तत्पुरुष (परमः आत्मा)

• सनातनः: eternal
• सनातनः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सनातन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (परमात्मा)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; addressing Yudhiṣṭhira with the epithet pārtha)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha / Dharmaputra (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-king addressed as Pārtha/Dharmaputra stands on a quiet Narmadā bank; the tīrtha is not marked by grand architecture—only a luminous, subtle whiteness (śukla) in the water/shore hints at its presence; a sage points inward, equating the hidden tīrtha with the hidden Self.

Characters & Entities

• Śuklatīrtha
• Paramātman

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The highest realities—supreme tīrthas and the Supreme Self—may be subtle and not easily recognized without discernment and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śuklatīrtha, declared anuttama (unsurpassed) among tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the verse emphasizes discernment in recognizing a tīrtha’s true greatness.