Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

प्रणम्य तीर्थं चलितो महीसागरसंगमम् । वृद्धब्राह्मणरूपेण ततोहं यातवान्नृपम्

Transliteration

praṇamya tīrthaṃ calito mahīsāgarasaṃgamam | vṛddhabrāhmaṇarūpeṇa tatohaṃ yātavānnṛpam

Translation

Nachdem ich dem Tīrtha ehrfürchtig die Verneigung dargebracht hatte, brach ich zur Mündung, wo Land und Ozean sich treffen, auf. Dann nahm ich die Gestalt eines betagten Brāhmaṇa an und ging zum König.

Word by Word

• praṇamya: having bowed
• praṇamya: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra√nam (धातु) + lyap (ल्यप्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया

• tīrtham: sacred ford/place of pilgrimage
• tīrtham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• calitaḥ: departed, set out
• calitaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया; विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √cal (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘गतः/प्रस्थितः’

• mahī-sāgara-saṃgamam: confluence of land and ocean
• mahī-sāgara-saṃgamam: Karma (कर्म; गमन-लक्ष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक) + sāgara (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (महीसागरयोः संगमः)

• vṛddha-brāhmaṇa-rūpeṇa: in the form of an old brāhmaṇa
• vṛddha-brāhmaṇa-rūpeṇa: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛddha (प्रातिपदिक) + brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तृतीया-करणे; तत्पुरुषः (वृद्धब्राह्मणस्य रूपम्)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तदनन्तरं (sequence adverb)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• yātavān: went, proceeded
• yātavān: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु) + ktavatu (क्तवतु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्तवतु) परिप्रयोगे; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि ‘गतोऽस्मि’ (periphrastic perfect sense)

• nṛpam: to the king
• nṛpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahī–Sāgara-saṅgama

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king) is approached; earlier address to Pārtha continues as narrative frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim bows at a windswept shore where earth meets ocean; then the same figure appears as an aged brāhmaṇa walking toward a royal court in the distance.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha
• mahīsāgarasaṃgama
• brāhmaṇa
• nṛpati (king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

One should honor the tīrtha with reverence before undertaking dharmic action; sacred places sanctify the journey and its intent.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse highlights the mahīsāgarasaṃgama—an auspicious confluence of land and ocean—presented as a tīrtha worthy of reverent salutation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Praṇāma (bowing) to the tīrtha is explicitly mentioned as the preliminary act before proceeding.