Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

सर्वतीर्थमयी यत्र निलीना ह्युदधौ मही । तत्र दर्शे तर्पयति सुभद्रस्तानमून्सुत

Transliteration

sarvatīrthamayī yatra nilīnā hyudadhau mahī | tatra darśe tarpayati subhadrastānamūnsuta

Translation

„Denn dort ist die Erde, die das Wesen aller Tīrthas in sich trägt, im Ozean verborgen. Dort, am Darśa-Tag, sättigt Subhadra eben jene Ahnen durch Opfergaben, o Sohn.“

Word by Word

• sarva-tīrtha-mayī: consisting of all sacred fords
• sarva-tīrtha-mayī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः: सर्वाणि तीर्थानि यस्यां/यत्र (मयट्-प्रत्ययार्थे ‘मयी’)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Relative location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक सम्बन्धबोधक (relative adverb)

• nilīnā: hidden/merged
• nilīnā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nilīna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) < ni-√lī (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (mahī)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात

• udadhau: in the ocean
• udadhau: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• mahī: the earth
• mahī: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (correlative adverb)

• darśe: on the new-moon day
• darśe: Adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; ‘दर्श’ = अमावास्या/पर्वदिन

• tarpayati: satiates/offers oblations to
• tarpayati: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tṛp (धातु, तर्पणे)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; causative sense (णिच्) ‘तर्पयति’

• subhadraḥ: Subhadra
• subhadraḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: subhadra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• tān: those (forefathers)
• tān: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• amūn: those (yonder)
• amūn: Karma (Apposition to tān)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; दूरवाचक

• suta: O son
• suta: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

Speaker

Pitṛs (ancestors)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Māhī–sāgara-saṅgama

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The narrator addressed as 'O son' (suta)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pitṛs reveal the secret: at that place the Earth, embodying all tīrthas, is concealed in the ocean; on Darśa day Subhadra performs tarpaṇa there, satisfying his ancestors.

Characters & Entities

• Subhadra (Mahāmuni)
• Darśa
• Udadhi (Ocean)
• Mahī (Earth)
• Sarvatīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain saṅgama-tīrthas are praised as ‘sarvatīrtha’—condensing the merit of all pilgrimages—especially powerful for ancestral rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sea-confluence tīrtha where ‘the Earth, embodying all tīrthas, is hidden in the ocean’—a classic Purāṇic glorification of a supreme saṅgama (akin to Gaṅgāsāgara/mahī-sāgara-saṅgama).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform Pitṛ-tarpaṇa on Darśa (new-moon day) at the sarvatīrtha-saṅgama for heightened ancestral satisfaction.