Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

तत्र काशी कुरुक्षेत्रमयोध्या मथुरापुरी । माया कांची ह्यवंती च अरण्यान्याश्रमैः सह

Transliteration

tatra kāśī kurukṣetramayodhyā mathurāpurī | māyā kāṃcī hyavaṃtī ca araṇyānyāśramaiḥ saha

Translation

Dort waren Kāśī, Kurukṣetra, Ayodhyā und die Stadt Mathurā; ebenso Māyā (Haridvāra), Kāñcī und Avantī (Ujjayinī) — dazu Wälder samt ihren Āśramas.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• काशी: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• काशी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; नगरनाम

• कुरुक्षेत्रम्: Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: कुरु-क्षेत्र (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष: ‘क्षेत्रं कुरूणाम्’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; स्थाननाम

• अयोध्या: Ayodhyā
• अयोध्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयोध्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; नगरनाम

• मथुरा-पुरी: Mathurā city
• मथुरा-पुरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मथुरा (प्रातिपदिक) + पुरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: मथुरा-पुरी (कर्मधारय: ‘मथुरा एव पुरी’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; नगरनाम

• माया: Māyā (Māyāpurī)
• माया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; नगरनाम (माया = हरिद्वार/मायापुरी)

• काञ्ची: Kāñcī
• काञ्ची: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काञ्ची (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; नगरनाम

• हि: indeed
• हि: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphasis/causal nuance)

• अवन्ती: Avantī (Ujjayinī)
• अवन्ती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवन्ती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; नगरनाम (उज्जयिनी)

• च: and
• च: Avyaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

• अरण्यानि: forests
• अरण्यानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• आश्रमैः: with hermitages
• आश्रमैः: Sahakaraka (Instrument/साधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahartha (Accompaniment/सहार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सहार्थक उपपद (postposition governing तृतीया)

Speaker

Prahlāda (continuing the itihāsa narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sapta-purī and major kṣetras (Kāśī, Kurukṣetra, Ayodhyā, Mathurā, Māyā/Haridvāra, Kāñcī, Avantī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary panorama where iconic cities—Kāśī, Kurukṣetra, Ayodhyā, Mathurā, Haridvāra, Kāñcī, Avantī—appear like jeweled islands amid forests and sages’ hermitages, suggesting a sacred atlas unfolding before the listener.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)
• Kurukṣetra
• Ayodhyā
• Mathurā
• Māyā (Haridvāra)
• Kāñcī
• Avantī (Ujjayinī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography is interconnected: the great tīrthas and cities are envisioned as spiritually present and mutually reflective within a sanctified realm.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Multiple pan-Indian tīrthas are named—Kāśī, Kurukṣetra, Ayodhyā, Mathurā, Māyā (Haridvāra), Kāñcī, and Avantī (Ujjain)—as being ‘there’ in the described sacred setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific ritual is prescribed; the verse catalogs renowned pilgrimage centers, establishing the locale’s composite tīrtha-majesty.