Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

सौभाम्यमतुलं दृष्ट्वा सिंहराशिगते गुरौ । गोदावर्य्यां द्विजश्रेष्ठा नारदो भगवत्प्रियः

Transliteration

saubhāmyamatulaṃ dṛṣṭvā siṃharāśigate gurau | godāvaryyāṃ dvijaśreṣṭhā nārado bhagavatpriyaḥ

Translation

Beholding incomparable auspiciousness when Jupiter (Guru) had entered Leo, Nārada—the best of the twice-born, beloved of the Lord—arrived at the Godāvarī.

Word by Word

• सौभाम्यम्: beauty, auspicious charm
• सौभाम्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौभाम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; abstract noun (भाववाचक)

• अतुलम्: incomparable
• अतुलम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying सौभाम्यम्)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having seen)

• सिंहराशि-गते: (when) entered into the sign Leo
• सिंहराशि-गते: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सिंह (प्रातिपदिक) + राशि (प्रातिपदिक) + गत (गम्-धातु, क्त)
• Form: समास: सिंह-राशि (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष) + गते (सप्तमी, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक; here agreeing with गुरौ); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण

• गुरौ: in Jupiter (when Jupiter was...)
• गुरौ: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; ज्योतिषे ‘गुरु’ = बृहस्पति (Jupiter)

• गोदावर्याम्: in/at the Godāvarī (river)
• गोदावर्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोदावरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: the best of the twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: द्विज-श्रेष्ठ (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष: ‘श्रेष्ठः द्विजानाम्’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• नारदः: Nārada
• नारदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• भगवत्-प्रियः: dear to the Lord
• भगवत्-प्रियः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: भगवत्-प्रिय (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष: ‘प्रियः भगवतः’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण (नारदः)

Speaker

Prahlāda (continuing the announced itihāsa narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Godāvarī

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/assembly (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nārada, radiant and travel-worn yet joyful, arrives at the Godāvarī during an auspicious celestial configuration; above, Jupiter symbolically placed in Leo; below, the river gleams, suggesting heightened sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Godāvarī
• Guru (Jupiter)
• Siṃha-rāśi (Leo)
• Bhagavān

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic tīrtha-tradition links sacred places with sacred times; auspicious celestial configurations are presented as amplifying spiritual potency.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Godāvarī is foregrounded as a tīrtha-river where extraordinary auspiciousness is perceived during a notable Jupiter transit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse signals sacred timing (Guru in Leo) often associated in tradition with heightened tīrtha practices like snāna and vrata.