Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

सुसूक्ष्मत्वादनिर्देश्यः शुक्लतीर्थं तथा नृप । मन्दप्रज्ञत्वमापन्ने महामोहसमन्वितः

Transliteration

susūkṣmatvādanirdeśyaḥ śuklatīrthaṃ tathā nṛpa | mandaprajñatvamāpanne mahāmohasamanvitaḥ

Translation

So auch, o König, ist Śuklatīrtha wegen seiner äußersten Feinheit schwer zu benennen; wer in stumpfen Verstand gefallen ist, von großer Verblendung umhüllt, vermag es nicht zu erfassen.

Word by Word

• सुसूक्ष्मत्वात्: because of extreme subtlety
• सुसूक्ष्मत्वात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु + सूक्ष्मत्व (प्रातिपदिक; समास/तद्धित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन = ablative singular; हेतु-अर्थे ‘because of’; समासः उपपद-तत्पुरुष (सु-सूक्ष्मत्वम् = very subtlety)

• अनिर्देश्यः: indescribable
• अनिर्देश्यः: Karta (Predicate nominative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन् + निर्देश्य (√दिश् धातु; कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम्; ‘निर्देश्य’ = gerundive (यत्/तव्यत्), with नकार-प्रत्यय ‘अन्-’ (negation)

• शुक्लतीर्थम्: Śukla-tīrtha
• शुक्लतीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्ल + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन = accusative singular

• तथा: thus
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = ‘thus/so’

• नृप: O king
• नृप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन = vocative singular

• मन्दप्रज्ञत्वम्: dull-wittedness
• मन्दप्रज्ञत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्द + प्रज्ञत्व (प्रातिपदिक; समास/तद्धित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन = accusative singular; भाववाचक-तद्धित ‘-त्व’; समासः कर्मधारय-तत्पुरुष (मन्दा प्रज्ञा यस्य/मन्दा प्रज्ञा)

• आपन्ने: when (one) has fallen into
• आपन्ने: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आपन्न (√आपद् धातु; कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सति, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘having fallen into’; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• महामोहसमन्वितः: endowed with great delusion
• महामोहसमन्वितः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महामोह + समन्वित (√इ/√वृ?; समन्वित as कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (implicit ‘सः/जनः’); समासः तत्पुरुष (महामोहेन समन्वितः = endowed with great delusion)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; addressing Yudhiṣṭhira as nṛpa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa); also framed toward Pārtha/Dharmaputra across the passage

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A rishi explains to a king that the tīrtha cannot be ‘pointed out’ like a monument; around them, ordinary travelers pass by unaware, symbolizing manda-prajñā; the riverbank holds a faint, almost imperceptible white radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Śuklatīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacredness can be subtle; delusion and dull intellect prevent one from recognizing holy power and acting accordingly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śuklatīrtha, described as ‘anirdeśya’—not easily indicated or recognized.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it implies cultivating clarity (viveka) to properly approach a tīrtha.