Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

गोपीचन्दनमुद्रां तु कृत्वा भ्रमति भूतले । सोऽपि देशो भवेत्पूतः कि पुनर्यत्र संस्थितम्

Transliteration

gopīcandanamudrāṃ tu kṛtvā bhramati bhūtale | so'pi deśo bhavetpūtaḥ ki punaryatra saṃsthitam

Translation

Selbst wenn jemand nur über die Erde umherwandert und das aus gopī-candana gefertigte Zeichen trägt, wird schon jener Ort gereinigt—wie viel mehr erst der Ort, wo es in Andacht eingesetzt und getragen wird.

Word by Word

• gopīcandanamudrām: the mark/seal of gopī-candana (sacred clay)
• gopīcandanamudrām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopīcandana + mudrā (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (gopīcandanasyā mudrā)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha/Discourse (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• kṛtvā: having made/applied
• kṛtvā: Kriyā (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु) + tvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: अव्ययकृदन्त (क्त्वान्त), पूर्वकाल (having done)

• bhramati: wanders; roams
• bhramati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhram (भ्रम् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• bhūtale: on the earth/ground
• bhūtale: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūtala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• saḥ: that; he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• api: also; even
• api: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक अव्यय (also/even)

• deśaḥ: place; region
• deśaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• bhavet: would become; may be
• bhavet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• pūtaḥ: purified; holy
• pūtaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūta (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण (purified)

• ki: what?
• ki: Sambandha/Interrogative (प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• punar: again; moreover
• punar: Sambandha/Discourse (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरर्थक अव्यय (again; moreover)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• saṃsthitam: is situated; is established
• saṃsthitam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-sthā (स्था धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; स्थित/स्थितम् (being situated/established)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Dvārakā Māhātmya discourse style within Skanda Purāṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gopī-candana (tilaka) as a moving tīrtha-sign; implicitly Dvārakā/Vaiṣṇava kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King/assembly of pilgrims (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Vaiṣṇava devotee with bright gopī-candana tilaka walks across varied landscapes; wherever he steps, the ground blooms with lotuses and becomes luminous, indicating purification; in the distance, a temple where the tilaka is ‘established’ shines even more.

Characters & Entities

• Gopī-candana (tilaka)
• Bhū-tala (earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

External marks rooted in devotion (like gopī-candana tilaka) are portrayed as carriers of sanctity that purify both the wearer and the surrounding land.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse primarily glorifies the sanctifying power associated with Dvārakā’s Vaiṣṇava devotion; it references purification of any place touched by such practice.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Applying/wearing the gopī-candana mudrā (Vaiṣṇava tilaka/mark).