Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

तद्गम्यतां महाभागा गोमतीमघदाहकाम् । गोदावरीं पुरस्कृत्य क्षेत्रतीर्थसमन्विताम्

Transliteration

tadgamyatāṃ mahābhāgā gomatīmaghadāhakām | godāvarīṃ puraskṛtya kṣetratīrthasamanvitām

Translation

অতএব, হে মহাভাগ্যবানগণ, পাপদাহিনী গোমতীর শরণে গমন কর; এবং ক্ষেত্র-তীর্থসমন্বিতা গোদাবরীকে অগ্রে স্থাপন করে সম্মান কর।

Word by Word

• तत्: that (place/thing)
• तत्: Karma (Object—elliptic/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (1st/2nd), एकवचनम्; वाक्योपक्रमे निर्देशार्थम्

• गम्यताम्: let (it) be approached / let one go
• गम्यताम्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकारः (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (passive): ‘let it be gone to’

• महाभागाः: O greatly fortunate ones
• महाभागाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महā (प्रातिपदिक) + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः (Vocative), बहुवचनम्; कर्मधारयः (महान् भागः यस्य)

• गोमतीम्: Gomatī (river)
• गोमतीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोमती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्

• अघदाहकाम्: desiring/causing the burning of sin
• अघदाहकाम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अघ (प्रातिपदिक) + दाह (प्रातिपदिक) + काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (अघस्य दाहः; तं कामयते/करोति इति—‘sin-burning’) ; गोमतीम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• गोदावरीम्: Godāvarī (river)
• गोदावरीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोदावरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्

• पुरस्कृत्य: having put in front, having taken as foremost
• पुरस्कृत्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरस्-कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययम् (Gerund): ‘having placed in front / having taken as foremost’

• क्षेत्रतीर्थसमन्विताम्: endowed with sacred regions and pilgrimage fords
• क्षेत्रतीर्थसमन्विताम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + समन्वित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुष-समासः (क्षेत्रैः तीर्थैश्च समन्विता) ; गोदावरीम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Prahlāda (contextual narrator within the Dvārakā Māhātmya passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gomatī (Dvārakā) with remembrance/honor of Godāvarī and her tīrthas

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A map-like sacred panorama: on one side, Gomatī meeting the sea at Dvārakā; on the other, Godāvarī flowing through multiple shrines; pilgrims gesture forward in reverence, as if placing Godāvarī ‘in front’ in their vow before entering Gomatī.

Characters & Entities

• Gomatī
• Godāvarī
• kṣetra
• tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage to purifying rivers and their associated holy sites is portrayed as a dharmic means for cleansing sin and gaining merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The rivers Gomati and Godāvarī are praised, along with the sacred kṣetras and tīrthas connected to them.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An instruction to ‘go/approach’ the rivers is given; bathing and worship are implied by tīrtha language but not explicitly detailed.