Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

तस्य वै कोटितीर्थस्य महिमा केन कथ्यताम् । यत्र स्नात्वा पुरा कृष्णो लोकसंग्रहणेच्छया

Transliteration

tasya vai koṭitīrthasya mahimā kena kathyatām | yatra snātvā purā kṛṣṇo lokasaṃgrahaṇecchayā

Translation

Wer vermag die Größe jenes Koṭitīrtha angemessen zu schildern—wo einst Kṛṣṇa badete, im Wunsch, die Welt zu bewahren und die Wesen zu führen?

Word by Word

• तस्य: of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन = Genitive singular

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) = emphatic particle

• कोटितीर्थस्य: of Koṭitīrtha
• कोटितीर्थस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: koṭi-tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक; कोटि + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन = Genitive singular; ‘कोटि-नामकस्य तीर्थस्य’

• महिमा: greatness; glory
• महिमा: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahimā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन = Nominative singular

• केन: by whom; how
• केन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया, एकवचन = Instrumental singular; प्रश्नार्थक ‘by whom/how’

• कथ्यताम्: let (it) be told
• कथ्यताम्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kath (कथ् धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive) = ‘let it be told’

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक) = ‘where’

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriyā (पूर्वकर्म/अनुक्रम)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (स्ना धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) = ‘having bathed’

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) = adverb ‘formerly/once’

• कृष्णः: Krishna
• कृष्णः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन = Nominative singular

• लोकसंग्रहणेच्छया: with the wish to uphold the world
• लोकसंग्रहणेच्छया: Hetu/Reason (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka-saṃgrahaṇa-icchā (प्रातिपदिक; लोक + संग्रहण + इच्छा)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन = Instrumental singular; हेतौ/साधने ‘with the desire for maintaining the world’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Setukhaṇḍa narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Koṭitīrtha

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kṛṣṇa, in ancient time, bathes at Koṭitīrtha with a purposeful, instructive demeanor; onlookers—sages and common folk—feel inspired to follow dharma.

Characters & Entities

• Koṭitīrtha
• Kṛṣṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Great beings perform tīrtha-rites to guide society; dharma is preserved through exemplary action (loka-saṃgraha).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Koṭitīrtha in the Setu/Rāmeśvaram sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna at Koṭitīrtha is highlighted as a meritorious act even undertaken by Kṛṣṇa.