Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

अस्मद्वाक्येन सत्येन तत्तथाऽसुरसत्तम । गयासमधिकं तीर्थं तव जातं धरातले

Transliteration

asmadvākyena satyena tattathā'surasattama | gayāsamadhikaṃ tīrthaṃ tava jātaṃ dharātale

Translation

Par la vérité de notre parole proférée, qu’il en soit ainsi, ô meilleur des Asura : sur la terre s’est manifesté pour toi un tīrtha sacré, égal —ou supérieur— à Gayā.

Word by Word

• अस्मद्वाक्येन: by our statement
• अस्मद्वाक्येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम) + वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अस्मद्-षष्ठी + वाक्य)

• सत्येन: by truth
• सत्येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तथा: thus, so
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus)

• असुरसत्तम: O best of Asuras
• असुरसत्तम: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असुर (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; षष्ठी/तत्पुरुषार्थे ('श्रेष्ठः असुराणाम्')

• गयासमधिकम्: greater than Gayā
• गयासमधिकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक) + समधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (गयाया: समधिकम् = 'exceeding Gayā')

• तीर्थम्: a pilgrimage place
• तीर्थम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• तव: for you / your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• जातम्: has come into being
• जातम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जन् (धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle: 'has arisen/been born')

• धरातले: on the surface of the earth
• धरातले: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (धरायाः तलम्)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (contextual divine/authoritative voice within the narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Unnamed tīrtha proclaimed ‘Gayā-samadhika’

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Addressed to an ‘asura-sattama’ (best of Asuras)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A divine or sage-like figure pronounces a truth-sentence; from the spoken word, a luminous river-ford/ghāṭa manifests on earth, with Gayā’s emblematic śrāddha imagery (piṇḍas, kuśa, pitṛs) hinted in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā
• tīrtha
• Asura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Satya (truth) is portrayed as a creative, world-shaping शक्ति—capable of establishing a tīrtha and its merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gayā is the benchmark tīrtha; the verse proclaims the arising of a Gayā-equal/superior tīrtha on earth in this Dharmāraṇya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not explicitly in this verse; the surrounding passage connects this tīrtha to ancestral satisfaction (piṇḍa-related rites).