Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

तीर्थभूतं हि कस्माच्च कारणात्तद्वदस्व मे । ब्राह्मणाः कतिसं ख्याकाः केन वै स्थापिताः पुरा

Transliteration

tīrthabhūtaṃ hi kasmācca kāraṇāttadvadasva me | brāhmaṇāḥ katisaṃ khyākāḥ kena vai sthāpitāḥ purā

Translation

মোক কোৱা—কোন কাৰণত এই স্থান তীৰ্থ-ৰূপ হ’ল? আৰু ইয়াত কিমানজন ব্ৰাহ্মণ আছিল—প্ৰাচীন কালত কিহে তেওঁলোকক ইয়াত স্থাপন কৰিলে?

Word by Word

• तीर्थभूतम्: become a sacred ford/place of pilgrimage
• तीर्थभूतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (कृदन्त; √भू धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; भूत-प्रत्ययान्त (क्त) कृदन्त; समासः—तत्पुरुष (तीर्थं भूते/तीर्थभूतम्)

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अव्यय

• कस्मात्: from what?/for what reason?
• कस्मात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• कारणात्: from/for the cause
• कारणात्: Apadana (Cause-source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वद: tell/say
• वद: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वद् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अस्व: please (be so)
• अस्व: Kriya (Auxiliary/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (उपसर्ग/आगम; लोट्-प्रयोगे)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; √अस् (भू-सत्तायाम्) धातोः आदेशरूप (अस्व) — ‘be/please’ (आमन्त्रणार्थ)

• मे: to me/for me
• मे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (6/4) एकवचन, सर्वनाम; एन्क्लिटिक रूप

• ब्राह्मणाः: Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• कति: how many
• कति: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कति (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक संख्याविशेषण; (लिङ्गानुसार) प्रथमा बहुवचन (ब्राह्मणाः इत्यस्य विशेषण)

• सङ्ख्याकाः: numbered/amounting to
• सङ्ख्याकाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सङ्ख्याक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; ‘सङ्ख्या’ इत्यर्थे विशेषण

• केन: by whom/with what
• केन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वै: indeed/assuredly
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• स्थापिताः: were established/placed
• स्थापिताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु) + णिच् (causative) → स्थापय; क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘were established/placed’

• पुरा: formerly/long ago
• पुरा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (a questioner addressing a sage; likely the king in dialogue with Vyāsa in this narrative frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya Tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A respectful interlocutor questions a sage in a forest-hermitage setting, pointing toward a sanctified ford/clearing marked by ritual signs (kuśa, water-pot, sacrificial ground).

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha is not merely a location; its sanctity is grounded in a specific sacred cause and dhārmic establishment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya is the setting; the verse asks about the reason it attained tīrtha-status.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is an inquiry into origin, numbers, and establishment.