Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । भूमिपाल ततो गच्छेत्तीर्थं परमशोभनम् । विख्यातं त्रिषु लोकेषु पित्ःणामृणमोचनम्

Transliteration

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | bhūmipāla tato gacchettīrthaṃ paramaśobhanam | vikhyātaṃ triṣu lokeṣu pitḥṇāmṛṇamocanam

Translation

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya dit : Ô protecteur de la terre, qu’on se rende alors à un tīrtha d’une beauté suprême, renommé dans les trois mondes, qui délivre de la dette envers les ancêtres.

Word by Word

• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: the venerable Mārkaṇḍeya
• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री-मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक; श्री + मार्कण्डेय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; संबोधन-पूर्वक वक्तृ-निर्देश

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• भूमिपाल: O king (protector of the earth)
• भूमिपाल: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि-पाल (प्रातिपदिक; भूमि + पाल)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; राजन्-सम्बोधन

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः—क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तीर्थम्: to a sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• परमशोभनम्: most splendid
• परमशोभनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम-शोभन (प्रातिपदिक; परम + शोभन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying तीर्थम्)

• विख्यातम्: well-known
• विख्यातम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-ख्यात (कृदन्त; ख्या धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (तीर्थम्)

• त्रिषु: in the three
• त्रिषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक-विशेषणम् (लॊकेषु)

• लोकेषु: worlds
• लोकेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• ऋणमोचनम्: (a place) that releases from debt
• ऋणमोचनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋण-मोचन (प्रातिपदिक; ऋण + मोचन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तीर्थस्य विशेषणरूपेण (appositional noun)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pitṛṇām-ṛṇa-mocana tīrtha (epithet; specific name not given here)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (भूमिपाल / नृप; addressed as protector of earth)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya addressing a king, pointing toward a radiant river-tīrtha; pilgrims with waterpots and offerings; the tīrtha depicted as luminous and world-renowned.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• King (bhūmipāla)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Pitṛ-ṛṇa (ancestral debt)
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is also a form of pitṛ-dharma: sacred travel can aid in fulfilling obligations to one’s ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A tīrtha famed as “Pitṝṇām ṛṇa-mocanam” (the place that frees one from ancestral debt) within the Revā-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A directive to go (gacchet) to the specified tīrtha; implied pitṛ-related rites may follow in subsequent verses.