Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

तीर्थानां परमं तीर्थं स्वयं रुद्रेण भाषितम्

Transliteration

tīrthānāṃ paramaṃ tīrthaṃ svayaṃ rudreṇa bhāṣitam

Translation

Parmi tous les tīrthas, voici le tīrtha suprême, proclamé par Rudra lui-même.

Word by Word

• tīrthānām: of (all) sacred places
• tīrthānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (तीर्थ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन (genitive plural)

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (परम प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying tīrtham)

• tīrtham: sacred place
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (तीर्थ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• svayam: personally, by himself
• svayam: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• rudreṇa: by Rudra (Śiva)
• rudreṇa: Karana (Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (रुद्र प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (instrumental)

• bhāṣitam: spoken, declared
• bhāṣitam: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhāṣ (भाष् धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (quoting/attributing authority to Rudra)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Paramatīrtha (identified in immediate narrative flow with Śaṅkhacūḍa-tīrtha)

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Arjuna (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rudra/Śiva, as cosmic teacher, proclaims a tīrtha’s supremacy; sages and pilgrims listen with folded hands; the tīrtha shines as a radiant locus on the riverbank.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra (Śiva)
• Gautameśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic authority culminates in divine testimony: a tīrtha’s greatness is sealed by Rudra’s own proclamation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse functions as a superlative endorsement of the Gautameśvara tīrtha within this adhyāya’s context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a statement of supreme status and divine attestation.