Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

ततःप्रभृति तत्ख्यातं तीर्थयुग्मं धरातले । आगत्याथ नरो दूरात्ताभ्यां कृत्वा निमज्जनम्

Transliteration

tataḥprabhṛti tatkhyātaṃ tīrthayugmaṃ dharātale | āgatyātha naro dūrāttābhyāṃ kṛtvā nimajjanam

Translation

ومنذ ذلك الحين اشتهر زوجُ التيرثا على وجه الأرض. ثم جاء رجلٌ من مكان بعيد، فاغتسل غمسًا في كليهما—

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय/तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (अपादान/क्रम-निर्देशक) = from then; thereafter

• prabhṛti: from then on
• prabhṛti: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (starting point)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prabhṛti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (आरम्भ-निर्देशक) = from (that time) onwards

• tat-khyātam: known as that
• tat-khyātam: Viśeṣaṇa (of object/subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + khyāta (ख्यात, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) √khyā ‘to be known’ = known as that; ‘तीर्थयुग्मम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• tīrtha-yugmam: the pair of tīrthas
• tīrtha-yugmam: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + yugma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तीर्थयोः युग्मम्) = pair of sacred fords

• dharā-tale: on the earth
• dharā-tale: Adhikaraṇa (location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (धरायाः तलम्) = on the surface of the earth

• āgatya: having come
• āgatya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-√gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) = having come

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तर/प्रसङ्ग-निर्देशक) = then; now

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन = a man

• dūrāt: from afar
• dūrāt: Apādāna (source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/अव्ययीभाववत्, पञ्चमी एकवचन (दूरात्) = from afar

• tābhyām: by those two
• tābhyām: Karaṇa (instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया द्विवचन = by/with those two (two tīrthas)

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) = having done

• nimajjanam: immersion (bath)
• nimajjanam: Karma (object of kṛtvā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nimajjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन = immersion/bathing dip

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tīrtha-yugma

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim approaches from a distant road with staff and waterpot; ahead lie two adjacent sacred waterbodies (or two ghāṭs) marked by flags and lamps. The act of immersion is shown as sequential—first one, then the other.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrthayugma
• Pilgrim (nara)
• Dharātala (earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s sanctity spreads through lived legend; pilgrims are encouraged to travel even long distances for purifying immersion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A famed “tīrthayugma” in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Adhyāya 198—two connected bathing sites revered on earth.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nimajjana (ritual immersion/bathing) in both tīrthas.