Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

सारस्वत उवाच । सुराष्ट्रदेशे गन्तव्यं गिरौ रैवतके यदि । नृप यात्राविधिं वक्ष्ये त्वमेकाग्रमनाः शृणु

Transliteration

sārasvata uvāca | surāṣṭradeśe gantavyaṃ girau raivatake yadi | nṛpa yātrāvidhiṃ vakṣye tvamekāgramanāḥ śṛṇu

Translation

Sārasvata sprach: „O König, wenn du in das Land Surāṣṭra, zum Berge Raivataka, reisen willst, dann werde ich dir die rechte Disziplin der Pilgerfahrt darlegen. Höre mit gesammeltetem Geist.“

Word by Word

• sārasvataḥ: Sārasvata
• sārasvataḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sārasvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• surāṣṭra-deśe: in the Surāṣṭra region
• surāṣṭra-deśe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surāṣṭra (प्रातिपदिक) + deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (सुराष्ट्रस्य देशः)

• gantavyaṃ: one should go
• gantavyaṃ: Karya (Obligation/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्यय (gerundive), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘गन्तव्यम्’ = should be gone

• girau: on the mountain
• girau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: giri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• raivatake: (named) Raivataka
• raivatake: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raivataka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition/शर्त)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional particle)

• nṛpa: O king
• nṛpa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• yātrā-vidhim: the rule/procedure of the pilgrimage
• yātrā-vidhim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yātrā (प्रातिपदिक) + vidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (यात्रायाः विधिः)

• vakṣye: I will tell
• vakṣye: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• ekāgra-manāḥ: with concentrated mind
• ekāgra-manāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक) + manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि-समास (एकाग्रं मनः यस्य)

• śṛṇu: listen
• śṛṇu: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sārasvata

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Raivataka (Girnar) within Surāṣṭra; connected tīrtha-field leading toward Prabhāsa/Vastrāpatha

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sārasvata ṛṣi addresses the king, pointing toward the western land of Surāṣṭra and the sacred massif of Raivataka, promising to teach yātrā discipline.

Characters & Entities

• Sārasvata
• Surāṣṭra
• Raivataka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage should be undertaken with mental focus and according to dharmic procedure, not casually.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Surāṣṭra region and Mount Raivataka are introduced as the pilgrimage destination within the Vastrāpatha Māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A general prescription is given: follow a proper yātrā-vidhi (pilgrimage protocol) and listen attentively to it.