Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्नृपश्रेष्ठ पिण्डोदकमनुत्तमम् । तीर्थं यत्र तपस्तप्तं पिण्डोदकद्विजातिना

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca | tato gacchennṛpaśreṣṭha piṇḍodakamanuttamam | tīrthaṃ yatra tapastaptaṃ piṇḍodakadvijātinā

Translation

Pulastya sprach: „Dann, o bester der Könige, soll man zum unvergleichlichen Tīrtha Piṇḍodaka gehen—zu dem heiligen Ort, an dem der Zweimalgeborene namens Piṇḍodaka Tapas (Askese) übte.“

Word by Word

• पुलस्त्यः: Pulastya
• पुलस्त्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुलस्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• नृपश्रेष्ठ: O best of kings
• नृपश्रेष्ठ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (नृपाणां श्रेष्ठः)

• पिण्डोदकम्: piṇḍa and water (funeral offering and water oblation)
• पिण्डोदकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (पिण्डश्च उदकं च)

• अनुत्तमम्: unsurpassed; excellent
• अनुत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (पिण्डोदकम्)

• तीर्थम्: pilgrimage place; sacred ford
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• तपः: austerity; penance
• तपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तप्तम्: was performed; was practiced
• तप्तम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया-विशेष)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (तपः) इति कर्तृसंबन्धे

• पिण्डोदकद्विजातिना: by the twice-born named Piṇḍodaka
• पिण्डोदकद्विजातिना: Karana (Agent/Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्डोदक + द्विजाति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पिण्डोदकस्य द्विजातिः)

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Piṇḍodaka

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (nṛpaśreṣṭha)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pulastya instructs a king on a pilgrimage map-like sequence; the next stop is Piṇḍodaka-tīrtha—shown as a clear waterbody with a small shrine and ascetic traces (kuśa, kamaṇḍalu), suggesting past tapas.

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Nṛpaśreṣṭha (best king)
• Piṇḍodaka Tīrtha
• Piṇḍodaka (brāhmaṇa)
• Tapas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is guided by stories of tapas: a tīrtha’s greatness is rooted in the austerities performed there by exemplary devotees.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Piṇḍodaka Tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prescription of yātrā—one “should go” to the Piṇḍodaka tīrtha; the specific rites are implied to follow from its māhātmya.