Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

गोदावरी गोमती च नदी तापी च नर्मदा । सरयूः स्वर्णरेखा च तमसा पापनाशिनी

Transliteration

godāvarī gomatī ca nadī tāpī ca narmadā | sarayūḥ svarṇarekhā ca tamasā pāpanāśinī

Translation

Die Godāvarī und die Gomatī; der Fluss Tāpī und die Narmadā; die Sarayū und die Svarṇarekhā; und die Tamasā, die die Sünden vernichtet.

Word by Word

• गोदावरी: Godāvarī
• गोदावरी: Karta (Item in list/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोदावरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• गोमती: Gomatī
• गोमती: Karta (Item in list/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोमती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (and)

• नदी: river
• नदी: Karta (Item in list/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• तापी: Tāpī
• तापी: Karta (Item in list/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तापी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (and)

• नर्मदा: Narmadā
• नर्मदा: Karta (Item in list/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• सरयूः: Sarayū
• सरयूः: Karta (Item in list/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरयू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• स्वर्णरेखा: Svarṇarekhā (golden-line; river name)
• स्वर्णरेखा: Karta (Item in list/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ण + रेखा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (स्वर्णस्य रेखा)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (and)

• तमसा: Tamasā (river)
• तमसा: Karta (Item in list/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तमसा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• पापनाशिनी: destroyer of sins
• पापनाशिनी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप + नाशिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular); विशेषणम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पापस्य नाशिनी)

Speaker

Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-like listener mentally surveys India’s sacred rivers as luminous streams flowing toward the western ocean, foreshadowing Prabhāsa’s coastal sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Godāvarī
• Gomatī
• Tāpī
• Narmadā
• Sarayū
• Svarṇarekhā
• Tamasā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma recognizes rivers as living tīrthas whose remembrance and visitation are linked with purification and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse praises the pan-Indian network of river-tīrthas, setting a comparison-point for the distinctive greatness of Vastrāpatha in Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; rivers are implied as places for snāna (ritual bathing) and purification.