Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

सरस्वतीं समादध्यौ नदीं त्रैलोक्यपावनीम् । सा ध्याता मनसा तेन मुनिना तत्र तत्क्षणात्

Transliteration

sarasvatīṃ samādadhyau nadīṃ trailokyapāvanīm | sā dhyātā manasā tena muninā tatra tatkṣaṇāt

Translation

Er meditierte über Sarasvatī, den Fluss, der die drei Welten reinigt. Sobald der Weise sie im Geist schaute, war sie im selben Augenblick dort gegenwärtig.

Word by Word

• सरस्वतीम्: Sarasvatī
• सरस्वतीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• समादध्यौ: he meditated upon; fixed (his mind)
• समादध्यौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• नदीम्: the river
• नदीम्: Karma (Appositional object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सरस्वतीम् इत्यस्य अप्पोजिशन (apposition)

• त्रैलोक्य-पावनीम्: purifier of the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्य-पावनीम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रैलोक्य (प्रातिपदिक; त्रि + लोक) + पावनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (त्रैलोक्यस्य पावनी)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ध्याता: (being) meditated upon
• ध्याता: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्तृपूरक)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्यातृ/ध्यात (प्रातिपदिक; √ध्यै (धातु) + क्त/क्तृ-भाव)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP: 'meditated upon'/invoked)

• मनसा: by the mind
• मनसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• तेन: by him
• तेन: Karana (Agent-instrument marker/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• मुनिना: by the sage
• मुनिना: Karana (Instrument/Agent/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb: there)

• तत्क्षणात्: immediately; at that very moment
• तत्क्षणात्: Kala/Apadana (Time-point: immediately/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (तस्मिन् क्षणे/तत्क्षण)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī-prādurbhāva-sthāna (local Sarasvatī-kund/srotas)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The sage meditates; Sarasvatī appears instantly—personified goddess rising with a vīṇā and water-pot, or as a sudden surge of crystalline water forming a stream around the pit.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Muni
• Trailokya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pure remembrance of a sacred power (śakti) can summon grace; the divine responds to concentrated dhyāna.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Sarasvatī is praised as a purifier across the cosmos; within Arbuda Khaṇḍa, her presence sanctifies the locale as a tīrtha-like field of intervention.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Mental worship/meditation (mānasa-dhyāna) upon Sarasvatī is exemplified as an efficacious spiritual act.