Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

सेतुमध्ये महातीर्थं गंधमादनपर्वते । ब्रह्मकुडमिति ख्यातं सर्व दारिद्र्यभेषजम्

Transliteration

setumadhye mahātīrthaṃ gaṃdhamādanaparvate | brahmakuḍamiti khyātaṃ sarva dāridryabheṣajam

Translation

Au cœur de Setu, sur le mont Gandhamādana, se trouve un grand tīrtha, renommé Brahma-kuḍa, remède à toute pauvreté et infortune.

Word by Word

• सेतु-मध्ये: in the middle of the bridge/causeway
• सेतु-मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेतु (प्रातिपदिक) + मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सेतोः मध्ये) — Locative singular neuter

• महातीर्थम्: a great sacred ford/pilgrimage-place
• महातीर्थम्: Karma/Predicate nominal (Object or Complement/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महातीरथ (प्रातिपदिक: महा + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — Nominative/Accusative singular neuter; कर्मधारयः (महच्च तत् तीर्थम्)

• गन्धमादन-पर्वते: on Mount Gandhamādana
• गन्धमादन-पर्वते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धमादन (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गन्धमादनस्य पर्वते) — Locative singular masculine

• ब्रह्मकुडम्: Brahmakuḍa (name of a tīrtha)
• ब्रह्मकुडम्: Karma/Predicate nominal (Object or Complement/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मकुड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — Nominative/Accusative singular neuter

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इत्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• ख्यातम्: is known (as)
• ख्यातम्: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ख्या (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — Past passive participle ‘known/called’

• सर्व: all, complete
• सर्व: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — agrees with भेषजम्

• दारिद्र्य-भेषजम्: remedy for poverty
• दारिद्र्य-भेषजम्: Predicate nominal (Complement/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दारिद्र्य (प्रातिपदिक) + भेषज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दारिद्र्यस्य भेषजम्) — Nominative/Accusative singular neuter

Speaker

Narratorial voice (contextually Sūta in Adhyāya 14)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahma-kuḍa

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (explicitly addressed in nearby verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A rocky sacred pool (kuṇḍa) nestled on a perfumed mountain within the Setu landscape; pilgrims approach with waterpots and offerings; subtle presence of Brahmā’s lotus, Viṣṇu’s conch-disc, and Śiva’s trident implied in the environment.

Characters & Entities

• Setu
• Gandhamādana
• Brahma-kuḍa (Brahma-kuṇḍa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha is portrayed as both spiritual and worldly benefactor—removing inner and outer deprivation through sacred contact.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Brahma-kuṇḍa (also spelled Brahma-kuḍa) situated at Setu, on Gandhamādana mountain.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, pilgrimage and snāna at Brahma-kuṇḍa; the explicit bathing instruction appears in the surrounding verses.