Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि हिरण्यातटसंस्थितम् । स्थानं तुण्डपुरंनाम यत्रासौ घर्घरो ह्रदः

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi hiraṇyātaṭasaṃsthitam | sthānaṃ tuṇḍapuraṃnāma yatrāsau ghargharo hradaḥ

Translation

Īśvara said: “Then, O great goddess, one should go to the place called Tuṇḍapura, situated on the bank of the Hiraṇyā, where lies the lake named Gharghara.”

Word by Word

• ईश्वरः: Īśvara
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन — वक्ता (speaker)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘said’

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) — अनन्तरं/तस्मात् (then/thereafter)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘should go’

• महादेवि: O Mahādevī
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन — ‘O Mahādevī’

• हिरण्य-तट-संस्थितम्: situated on the Hiraṇya bank
• हिरण्य-तट-संस्थितम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हिरण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + तट (प्रातिपदिक) + संस्थित (कृदन्त; √स्था)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन — ‘हिरण्यतटे संस्थितम्’ (situated on the Hiraṇya bank); संस्थित = क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle)

• स्थानम्: to the place
• स्थानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन — गमनस्य कर्म (object of ‘go’)

• तुण्डपुरम्: Tuṇḍapura
• तुण्डपुरम्: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुण्डपुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — स्थानस्य नाम (name of the place)

• नाम: named
• नाम: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय/निपात)
• Form: अव्यय (title-marker particle) — ‘named/called’

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (relative adverb) — देशवाचक (where)

• असौ: that
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन — ‘that (one)’

• घर्घरः: Gharghara (named/roaring)
• घर्घरः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घर्घर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन — ह्रदस्य विशेषणम् (qualifier of lake)

• ह्रदः: lake
• ह्रदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ह्रद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/nominative), एकवचन — ‘lake’

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tuṇḍapura; Gharghara-hrada; Hiraṇyā-taṭa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva instructs Devī on the next waypoint: a riverbank settlement (Hiraṇyā) with a prominent lake (Gharghara-hrada), suggesting a liminal landscape of water, steps, and pilgrims arriving.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Īśvara)
• Pārvatī
• Hiraṇyā-taṭa
• Tuṇḍapura
• Gharghara-hrada

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Scripture sacralizes landscape—rivers, banks, towns, and lakes become stations for purification and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Tuṇḍapura and the Gharghara lake (hrada) on the Hiraṇyā bank in Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The instruction is to proceed to the named site as part of the prescribed tīrtha-yātrā.