Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

तस्मादवश्यं गंतव्यं कपितीर्थं मुमुक्षुभिः । रंभा कौशिकशापेन शिलाभूता पुरा द्विजाः

Transliteration

tasmādavaśyaṃ gaṃtavyaṃ kapitīrthaṃ mumukṣubhiḥ | raṃbhā kauśikaśāpena śilābhūtā purā dvijāḥ

Translation

C’est pourquoi Kapitīrtha doit assurément être visité par ceux qui aspirent à la délivrance. Car jadis, ô deux-fois-nés, Rambhā—par la malédiction de Kauśika—devint pierre.

Word by Word

• तस्मात्: therefore; from that (reason)
• तस्मात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अवश्यम्: certainly
• अवश्यम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अवश्य (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभाववत्)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: certainly/necessarily)

• गन्तव्यम्: must be visited / should be gone to
• गन्तव्यम्: Kriya (Obligation/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + तव्यत् (कृत्)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्ययान्त (तव्यत्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भावे/कर्तरि प्रयोगः—‘गन्तव्यम्’ = must be gone/should go

• कपितीर्थम्: Kapi-tīrtha
• कपितीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपि + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• मुमुक्षुभिः: by seekers of liberation
• मुमुक्षुभिः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुमुक्षु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; ‘मोक्षं इच्छति’ इति (desiderative nominal)

• रम्भा: Rambhā (apsaras)
• रम्भा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रम्भा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कौशिकशापेन: by Kauśika’s curse
• कौशिकशापेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौशिक + शाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कौशिकस्य शापः)

• शिलाभूता: having become a stone
• शिलाभूता: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिला (प्रातिपदिक) + भू (धातु) + क्त (कृत्)
• Form: भू-धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूत (past participle) ‘भूता’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (रम्भा)

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Sambandha (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: formerly)

• द्विजाः: O twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे अपि प्रयुज्यते (here: vocative sense ‘O twice-born’)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual—Sūta)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapitīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ṛṣis (addressed as ‘dvijāḥ’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-facing proclamation: the tīrtha on a coastal setting; in the narrative background, Rambhā appears as a stone form near the water, with sages indicating the site as ‘must-visit’ for mumukṣus.

Characters & Entities

• Kapitīrtha
• Rambhā
• Kauśika (Viśvāmitra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage to a praised tīrtha is presented as a support for liberation, and even severe bondage (a curse) can be undone through sacred merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapitīrtha in the Setukhaṇḍa’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is pilgrimage itself—‘must be visited’—especially by mumukṣus (liberation-seekers).