Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि तीर्थं त्रैलोक्यविश्रुतम् । दशाश्वमेधिकंनाम महापातकनाशनम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi tīrthaṃ trailokyaviśrutam | daśāśvamedhikaṃnāma mahāpātakanāśanam

Translation

Īśvara sprach: „Dann, o Große Göttin, soll man zur in den drei Welten berühmten Tīrtha gehen, genannt Daśāśvamedhika – Vernichterin großer Sünden.“

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Lord)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्यय-प्रकारः: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: ‘then/thereafter’)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक; महा + देवी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः

• tīrtham: sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• trailokyaviśrutam: renowned in the three worlds
• trailokyaviśrutam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri-lokya-viśruta (प्रातिपदिक; त्रि + लोक्य + विश्रुत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (tīrtham); तत्पुरुषसमासः

• daśāśvamedhikam: (called) ‘ten-aśvamedha’
• daśāśvamedhikam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśa-aśvamedhika (प्रातिपदिक; दश + अश्वमेधिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (tīrtham); द्विगुसमासः (numeral compound)

• nāma: named
• nāma: Sambandha (Apposition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, नामनिर्देशक (naming particle)

• mahāpātakanāśanam: destroyer of great sins
• mahāpātakanāśanam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā-pātaka-nāśana (प्रातिपदिक; महा + पातक + नाशन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (tīrtham); तत्पुरुषसमासः

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Daśāśvamedhika

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī/Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva directs Devī toward a celebrated tīrtha named Daśāśvamedhika; pilgrims walk a marked path with banners, approaching a water-body/ghāṭa where ritual bathing is implied; the name’s grandeur is shown through symbolic ten sacrificial horses in the background motif.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Daśāśvamedhika Tīrtha
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage (tīrtha-yātrā) undertaken with reverence is upheld as a potent means for purification and removal of even serious moral faults.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Daśāśvamedhika Tīrtha within the sacred geography of Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A directive to go/undertake pilgrimage to the Daśāśvamedhika tīrtha.