Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

भगीरथेति विख्यातः सर्वशस्त्रभृतां वरः । स ज्ञातिकारणादेव गंगां तत्रानयिष्यति

Transliteration

bhagīratheti vikhyātaḥ sarvaśastrabhṛtāṃ varaḥ | sa jñātikāraṇādeva gaṃgāṃ tatrānayiṣyati

Translation

Bekannt als Bhāgīratha, der Vornehmste aller Waffenträger, wird er aus Sorge um seine Vorfahren die Gaṅgā dorthin bringen.

Word by Word

• भगीरथ: Bhagīratha
• भगीरथ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगीरथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (इति-पूर्वं नामनिर्देशः)

• इति: thus (named)
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/नामनिर्देशक (quotative particle)

• विख्यातः: renowned
• विख्यातः: Kriya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + ख्या (धातु) → विख्यात (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेयविशेषणम्

• सर्वशस्त्रभृताम्: of all weapon-bearers
• सर्वशस्त्रभृताम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + शस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक) + भृत् (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (सर्वाणि शस्त्राणि बिभ्रति ये ते); पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• वरः: the best
• वरः: Kriya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेय (श्रेष्ठः)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ज्ञातिकारणात्: for the sake of (his) kinsmen
• ज्ञातिकारणात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञाति (प्रातिपदिक) + कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (ज्ञातीनां कारणम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान-हेतु), एकवचन

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (indeed/just)

• गङ्गाम्: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• आनयिष्यति: will bring
• आनयिष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + नी (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्काल/Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Agastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (as sarit-śreṣṭhā) reaching the ocean

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary glimpse of King Bhāgīratha—armed, resolute—undertaking austerities and leading Gaṅgā for the sake of his ancestors; the river appears as a luminous goddess moving toward the sea.

Characters & Entities

• Bhāgīratha
• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Filial piety and duty to ancestors can become the cause for great sacred works that bless the whole world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra (the ‘there’ in context), envisioned as a beneficiary of Gaṅgā’s sanctifying presence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly points to ancestral purpose (pitṛ-kārya); no explicit śrāddha or tarpaṇa procedure is stated in this verse.