Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

यं यं काममभिध्याय स्नानं तत्र करोति यः । तं तं प्राप्नोति राजेन्द्र सम्यग्ध्यानसमन्वितः

Transliteration

yaṃ yaṃ kāmamabhidhyāya snānaṃ tatra karoti yaḥ | taṃ taṃ prāpnoti rājendra samyagdhyānasamanvitaḥ

Translation

O König der Könige, welchen Wunsch auch immer jemand im Geist erwägt und dann dort mit rechter meditativer Sammlung badet — eben diesen Wunsch erlangt er.

Word by Word

• yam: whatever/which
• yam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• yam: (that) which
• yam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (emphatic repetition)

• kāmam: desire/wish
• kāmam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• abhidhyāya: having contemplated
• abhidhyāya: Pūrvakāla (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: abhidhyāya (कृदन्त-अव्यय; √dhyai (ध्यै) + अभि उपसर्ग, ल्यप्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त-अव्यय (gerund): having meditated/thought

• snānam: bathing
• snānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: there)

• karoti: does/performs
• karoti: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• yaḥ: whoever
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• tam: that
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• tam: that very (one)
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (emphatic repetition)

• prāpnoti: attains
• prāpnoti: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (आप्) + प्र
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• rājendra: O king of kings
• rājendra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रयोगः (rājñām indraḥ)

• samyag-dhyāna-samanvitaḥ: endowed with proper meditation
• samyag-dhyāna-samanvitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samyak (अव्यय) + dhyāna (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (कृदन्त; √i (इ) + सम्+अनु, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (samyag-dhyānena samanvitaḥ)

Speaker

Pulastya (deduced; addressing a king—rājendra—within the Arbuda Khaṇḍa dialogue frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda tīrtha (unspecified sub-tīrtha; 'tatra')

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (rājendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at the tīrtha’s edge closes his eyes in focused meditation, then enters the water; subtle aura suggests intention crystallizing into blessing, while Pulastya addresses the king.

Characters & Entities

• Rājendra (king/listener)
• Tīrtha (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred bathing bears fruit most fully when joined with disciplined contemplation (dhyāna) and clear intention.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing Arbuda tīrtha being praised in Adhyāya 16; ‘tatra’ points to that sanctified bathing place.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform snāna at the tīrtha while maintaining samyak-dhyāna (proper meditative focus) on the desired spiritual or worldly aim.