Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

तत्र तीर्थे च तत्तीर्थं न भूतं न भविष्यति । केदारं च प्रयागं च कुरुक्षेत्रं गया तथा

Transliteration

tatra tīrthe ca tattīrthaṃ na bhūtaṃ na bhaviṣyati | kedāraṃ ca prayāgaṃ ca kurukṣetraṃ gayā tathā

Translation

En ce lieu sacré, un tel tīrtha n’a jamais existé auparavant, et n’existera plus jamais. Même les fameux Kedāra, Prayāga, Kurukṣetra et Gayā—

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative setting/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb of place

• तीर्थे: in the sacred place (tīrtha)
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन = Neuter, Locative singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) = conjunction

• तत्-तीर्थम्: that (particular) tīrtha
• तत्-तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन = Neuter, Accusative singular; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: 'तस्य तीर्थम्')

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) = negation particle

• भूतम्: (has) been / existed
• भूतम्: Karta (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूत (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √भू)
• Form: भूत (भूतकालिक कृदन्त/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन = past participle 'been'; used predicatively

• न: nor
• न: Sambandha (Negation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) = negation particle

• भविष्यति: will be
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन = Future, 3rd person singular

• केदारम्: Kedāra
• केदारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केदार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन = Masculine, Accusative singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) = conjunction

• प्रयागम्: Prayāga
• प्रयागम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रयाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन = Masculine, Accusative singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) = conjunction

• कुरुक्षेत्रम्: Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुक्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन = Neuter, Accusative singular; तत्पुरुष-समास (कुरूणां क्षेत्रम्)

• गया: Gayā
• गया: Karta (Item in enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन = Feminine, Nominative singular (as a listed tīrtha-name)

• तथा: likewise/also
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/उपमान/प्रकार) = indeclinable 'thus/also'

Speaker

Narrator (tīrtha-māhātmya voice within Revā Khaṇḍa; exact speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator in a forested riverine hermitage extols a Narmadā-region tīrtha as unequalled, while iconic emblems of Kedāra (snowy peak and liṅga), Prayāga (triveṇī confluence), Kurukṣetra (sacred plain), and Gayā (piṇḍa offerings) appear as distant vignettes being ‘surpassed’ by the local sanctum.

Characters & Entities

• Kedāra
• Prayāga
• Kurukṣetra
• Gayā
• Śūlabheda (contextual)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic praise often establishes a site’s uniqueness by comparing it to the most celebrated pan-Indian tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Śūlabheda tīrtha on the Revā, presented as incomparable even to famous pilgrimage centers.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse functions as a comparative glorification (māhātmya) statement.