Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

सरस्वत्या स्तटे शुभ्रे सर्वपातकनाशने । शास्त्रगोष्ठीरता नित्यं तत्र तिष्ठ मया सह

Transliteration

sarasvatyā staṭe śubhre sarvapātakanāśane | śāstragoṣṭhīratā nityaṃ tatra tiṣṭha mayā saha

Translation

«Sur la rive éclatante de la Sarasvatī, destructrice de tous les péchés, demeure là avec moi, te réjouissant sans cesse des assemblées d’étude des śāstra.»

Word by Word

• सरस्वत्याः: of Sarasvatī
• सरस्वत्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• स्तटे: on the bank
• स्तटे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• शुभ्रे: pure, bright
• शुभ्रे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; स्तट-विशेषण

• सर्वपातकनाशने: in the destroyer of all sins
• सर्वपातकनाशने: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + पातक + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; स्तट-विशेषण; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पातकानां नाशनम्)

• शास्त्रगोष्ठीरता: devotion to scriptural assemblies
• शास्त्रगोष्ठीरता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शास्त्र + गोष्ठी + रता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (शास्त्रगोष्ठ्यां रता)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of time)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• तिष्ठ: stay, stand
• तिष्ठ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मया: with me
• मया: Sahakaraka (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahakaraka (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सहार्थक-उपपद (postposition meaning 'with')

Speaker

Arundhatī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī-taṭa (śubhra-taṭa)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (addressed as implicit audience in the surrounding narrative style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous riverbank of Sarasvatī with white sands; two women/figures seated under a sacred tree, surrounded by sages and students in a śāstra-goṣṭhī; palm-leaf manuscripts, waterpots, and a calm, purifying atmosphere.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī (river)
• Arundhatī
• Dhārā (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification is supported by holy geography and holy conversation—living near a tīrtha and engaging in śāstra strengthens dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The bank of the Sarasvatī River is praised as “sarvapātakanāśana,” a remover of all sins.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A lifestyle-dharma is implied: residence at the sacred bank and regular śāstra-goṣṭhī (scriptural discourse).