Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

ऋषयस्तत्र तिष्ठंति यत्र प्राची सरस्वती । ब्रह्महत्या गता यत्र शंकरस्य च तत्क्षणात्

Transliteration

ṛṣayastatra tiṣṭhaṃti yatra prācī sarasvatī | brahmahatyā gatā yatra śaṃkarasya ca tatkṣaṇāt

Translation

يقيم الرِّشيون هناك بعينه حيث تجري سَرَسْوَتي (Sarasvatī) نحو الشرق. وهناك، في تلك اللحظة ذاتها، زال عن شَنْكَرَ (Śaṅkara) إثمُ بْرَهْمَهَتْيَا (brahma-hatyā).

Word by Word

• ऋषयः: sages
• ऋषयः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: ‘there’)

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

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• प्राची: eastern (flowing eastward)
• प्राची: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राची (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifier)

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī (river/goddess)
• सरस्वती: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• ब्रह्महत्या: the sin of brahmin-slaying
• ब्रह्महत्या: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + हत्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative: ‘killing of a brāhmaṇa/Brahman’)

• गता: went away/was removed
• गता: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग (gone/removed)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• शंकरस्य: of Śaṅkara
• शंकरस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction: ‘and’)

• तत्क्षणात्: immediately
• तत्क्षणात्: Kaaladhikarana (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत् + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्यय (ablatival adverb: ‘immediately/from that moment’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prācī Sarasvatī (near Brahmakuṇḍa)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva at the riverbank of the prācī Sarasvatī: the moment of purification—dark stain of sin dissolving into light; sages witnessing; the river glowing eastward; a sense of sudden release and radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis
• Sarasvatī
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Brahmahatyā
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supremely sanctified tīrtha is depicted as a place of immediate pāpa-kṣaya, validating pilgrimage as a means of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Sarasvatī-associated locale in Prabhāsakṣetra (linked with Brahmakuṇḍa in the surrounding verses).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, tīrtha-sevā (pilgrimage/approach) for purification; no explicit act is named in this verse.