Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

पातालवाहिनीगंगा स्रोतांसि तत्र भूरिशः । समानीतानि हरिणा तत्र तिष्ठंति भामिनि

Transliteration

pātālavāhinīgaṃgā srotāṃsi tatra bhūriśaḥ | samānītāni hariṇā tatra tiṣṭhaṃti bhāmini

Translation

أيتها الحسناء، في تلك البقعة المقدّسة توجد جداول كثيرة من نهر الغانغا الجاري عبر پاتالا؛ وقد جمعها هاري هناك، فاستقرّت وثبتت في ذلك الموضع.

Word by Word

• पातालवाहिनीगङ्गा: the Gaṅgā that flows to/through Pātāla
• पातालवाहिनीगङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक) + वाहिनी (प्रातिपदिक) + गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (पातालं वहति या वाहिनी; सा गङ्गा)

• स्रोतांसि: streams, channels
• स्रोतांसि: Karta (Co-subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्रोतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-अव्यय (there)

• भूरिशः: in great abundance
• भूरिशः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूरिशस् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययम्; परिमाण/बहुत्ववाचक-अव्यय (in abundance, greatly)

• समानीतानि: have been brought/assembled
• समानीतानि: Kriyā (Predicative verbal notion/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√नी (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; कर्मणि (brought/collected)

• हरिणा: by Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरिणा: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचनम् (singular)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-अव्यय (there)

• तिष्ठन्ति: stand/remain
• तिष्ठन्ति: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• भामिनि: O fair/beautiful lady
• भामिनि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भामिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचनम् (singular)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ratnakuṇḍa (Gaṅgā-srotasām sannidhi)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (bhāminī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A jewel-like pond with multiple translucent streams entering from below the earth, depicted as serpent-like watercourses; Viṣṇu (Hari) gestures as if drawing the currents together; Devī listens beside Śiva in a teaching posture.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Pātāla
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are sanctified by divine arrangement; approaching them with reverence connects one to the purifying power of Gaṅgā and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where multiple Gaṅgā-streams are said to remain established.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is commanded here; the verse establishes the tīrtha’s sanctity as groundwork for practices like darśana and snāna.