Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

तीर्थानि तीर्थराजोऽयं प्रयागः समुपस्थितः । आत्मानं गोपयामास तीर्थकोटिभिरावृतम्

Transliteration

tīrthāni tīrtharājo'yaṃ prayāgaḥ samupasthitaḥ | ātmānaṃ gopayāmāsa tīrthakoṭibhirāvṛtam

Translation

Alle Tīrthas waren zugegen; und auch Prayāga, der König der Tīrthas, kam herbei. Von Koṭis an Tīrthas umhüllt, verbarg es sich selbst.

Word by Word

• तीर्थानि: holy places, tīrthas
• तीर्थानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• तीर्थराजः: king of tīrthas
• तीर्थराजः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ + राज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तीर्थाणां राजा)

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• प्रयागः: Prayāga
• प्रयागः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रयाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• समुपस्थितः: has arrived, is present
• समुपस्थितः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-उप-स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि/कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘arrived/present’

• आत्मानम्: himself
• आत्मानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• गोपयामास: protected, concealed
• गोपयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गुप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तीर्थकोटिभिः: by crores of tīrthas
• तीर्थकोटिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तीर्थाणां कोटयः)

• आवृतम्: covered, surrounded
• आवृतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-√वृ (वृञ्/वृ धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘covered/enveloped’—आत्मानम् इति कर्मविशेषण

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prayāga (as tīrtha-rāja) present at Prabhāsa

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Surasundarī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Personified tīrthas gather like radiant beings; Prayāga arrives crowned as tīrtha-rāja, then becomes veiled/hidden amid a vast multitude of tīrtha-forms encircling it.

Characters & Entities

• Prayāga (Tīrtharāja)
• tīrthas (collectively)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Supreme sanctity can remain veiled; the greatest tīrtha may be ‘hidden’ until revealed by divine narrative and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gupta Prayāga—the concealed form of Prayāga within Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse explains the hidden nature of the tīrtha.