Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

सर्वतीर्थमयी यत्र निलीना ह्युदधौ मही । तत्र दर्शे तर्पयति सुभद्रस्तानमून्सुत

Transliteration

sarvatīrthamayī yatra nilīnā hyudadhau mahī | tatra darśe tarpayati subhadrastānamūnsuta

Translation

«Car là, la Terre —qui porte l’essence de tous les tīrthas— demeure cachée dans l’océan. Là, au jour de Darśa, Subhadra rassasie ces mêmes ancêtres par des offrandes, ô mon fils.»

Word by Word

• sarva-tīrtha-mayī: consisting of all sacred fords
• sarva-tīrtha-mayī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः: सर्वाणि तीर्थानि यस्यां/यत्र (मयट्-प्रत्ययार्थे ‘मयी’)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Relative location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक सम्बन्धबोधक (relative adverb)

• nilīnā: hidden/merged
• nilīnā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nilīna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) < ni-√lī (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (mahī)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात

• udadhau: in the ocean
• udadhau: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• mahī: the earth
• mahī: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (correlative adverb)

• darśe: on the new-moon day
• darśe: Adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; ‘दर्श’ = अमावास्या/पर्वदिन

• tarpayati: satiates/offers oblations to
• tarpayati: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tṛp (धातु, तर्पणे)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; causative sense (णिच्) ‘तर्पयति’

• subhadraḥ: Subhadra
• subhadraḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: subhadra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• tān: those (forefathers)
• tān: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• amūn: those (yonder)
• amūn: Karma (Apposition to tān)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; दूरवाचक

• suta: O son
• suta: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

Speaker

Pitṛs (ancestors)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Māhī–sāgara-saṅgama

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The narrator addressed as 'O son' (suta)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pitṛs reveal the secret: at that place the Earth, embodying all tīrthas, is concealed in the ocean; on Darśa day Subhadra performs tarpaṇa there, satisfying his ancestors.

Characters & Entities

• Subhadra (Mahāmuni)
• Darśa
• Udadhi (Ocean)
• Mahī (Earth)
• Sarvatīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain saṅgama-tīrthas are praised as ‘sarvatīrtha’—condensing the merit of all pilgrimages—especially powerful for ancestral rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sea-confluence tīrtha where ‘the Earth, embodying all tīrthas, is hidden in the ocean’—a classic Purāṇic glorification of a supreme saṅgama (akin to Gaṅgāsāgara/mahī-sāgara-saṅgama).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform Pitṛ-tarpaṇa on Darśa (new-moon day) at the sarvatīrtha-saṅgama for heightened ancestral satisfaction.