Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

पयोष्णी तपती पुण्या विदर्भा च पयस्विनी । गोदावरी महापुण्या भीमा कृष्णानदी तथा

Transliteration

payoṣṇī tapatī puṇyā vidarbhā ca payasvinī | godāvarī mahāpuṇyā bhīmā kṛṣṇānadī tathā

Translation

পয়োষ্ণী আৰু পবিত্ৰ তপতী; বিদর্ভা আৰু পয়স্বিনী; মহাপুণ্যময় গোদাবৰী; আৰু ভীমা তথা কৃষ্ণা নদীও—এইসকল তীৰ্থসমূহৰ মাজত একত্ৰিত হৈছিল।

Word by Word

• पयोष्णी: Payoṣṇī (river)
• पयोष्णी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पयोष्णी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तपती: Tapatī (river)
• तपती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पुण्या: holy
• पुण्या: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• विदर्भा: Vidarbhā (river)
• विदर्भा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विदर्भा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• पयस्विनी: Payasvinī (river)
• पयस्विनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पयस्विनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गोदावरी: Godāvarī
• गोदावरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोदावरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• महापुण्या: very holy
• महापुण्या: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास; विशेषण

• भीमा: Bhīmā (river)
• भीमा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कृष्णानदी: Kṛṣṇā river
• कृष्णानदी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्णा + नदी (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास

• तथा: also, likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Śrī Prahlāda (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā (hosting Deccan river tīrthas)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Procession of Deccan river-devis arriving with regional flora (tamarind, sugarcane, black-soil fields), carrying kalashas; their waters flow as ribbons converging toward Dvārakā’s sea-facing city.

Characters & Entities

• Payoṣṇī
• Tapatī
• Vidarbhā
• Payasvinī
• Godāvarī
• Bhīmā
• Kṛṣṇā (river)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa frames India’s rivers as carriers of merit, unified in their sanctifying purpose within pilgrimage tradition.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā, as the implied dhāma whose greatness draws these rivers/tīrthas into attendance.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a sacred-river/tīrtha catalogue.