Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

सौभाम्यमतुलं दृष्ट्वा सिंहराशिगते गुरौ । गोदावर्य्यां द्विजश्रेष्ठा नारदो भगवत्प्रियः

Transliteration

saubhāmyamatulaṃ dṛṣṭvā siṃharāśigate gurau | godāvaryyāṃ dvijaśreṣṭhā nārado bhagavatpriyaḥ

Translation

Als Jupiter (Guru) in das Zeichen Löwe eingetreten war und unvergleichliche Heilsverheißung sichtbar wurde, gelangte Nārada—der Beste der Zweimalgeborenen, dem Herrn lieb—an die Godāvarī.

Word by Word

• सौभाम्यम्: beauty, auspicious charm
• सौभाम्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौभाम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; abstract noun (भाववाचक)

• अतुलम्: incomparable
• अतुलम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying सौभाम्यम्)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having seen)

• सिंहराशि-गते: (when) entered into the sign Leo
• सिंहराशि-गते: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सिंह (प्रातिपदिक) + राशि (प्रातिपदिक) + गत (गम्-धातु, क्त)
• Form: समास: सिंह-राशि (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष) + गते (सप्तमी, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक; here agreeing with गुरौ); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण

• गुरौ: in Jupiter (when Jupiter was...)
• गुरौ: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; ज्योतिषे ‘गुरु’ = बृहस्पति (Jupiter)

• गोदावर्याम्: in/at the Godāvarī (river)
• गोदावर्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोदावरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: the best of the twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: द्विज-श्रेष्ठ (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष: ‘श्रेष्ठः द्विजानाम्’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• नारदः: Nārada
• नारदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• भगवत्-प्रियः: dear to the Lord
• भगवत्-प्रियः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: भगवत्-प्रिय (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष: ‘प्रियः भगवतः’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण (नारदः)

Speaker

Prahlāda (continuing the announced itihāsa narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Godāvarī

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/assembly (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nārada, radiant and travel-worn yet joyful, arrives at the Godāvarī during an auspicious celestial configuration; above, Jupiter symbolically placed in Leo; below, the river gleams, suggesting heightened sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Godāvarī
• Guru (Jupiter)
• Siṃha-rāśi (Leo)
• Bhagavān

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic tīrtha-tradition links sacred places with sacred times; auspicious celestial configurations are presented as amplifying spiritual potency.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Godāvarī is foregrounded as a tīrtha-river where extraordinary auspiciousness is perceived during a notable Jupiter transit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse signals sacred timing (Guru in Leo) often associated in tradition with heightened tīrtha practices like snāna and vrata.