Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

ततःप्रभृति तत्ख्यातं तीर्थयुग्मं धरातले । आगत्याथ नरो दूरात्ताभ्यां कृत्वा निमज्जनम्

Transliteration

tataḥprabhṛti tatkhyātaṃ tīrthayugmaṃ dharātale | āgatyātha naro dūrāttābhyāṃ kṛtvā nimajjanam

Translation

Dès lors, ce couple de tīrthas devint renommé sur la terre. Puis un homme, venu même de loin, s’immergeant dans l’un et l’autre—

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय/तद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (अपादान/क्रम-निर्देशक) = from then; thereafter

• prabhṛti: from then on
• prabhṛti: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (starting point)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prabhṛti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (आरम्भ-निर्देशक) = from (that time) onwards

• tat-khyātam: known as that
• tat-khyātam: Viśeṣaṇa (of object/subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + khyāta (ख्यात, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) √khyā ‘to be known’ = known as that; ‘तीर्थयुग्मम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• tīrtha-yugmam: the pair of tīrthas
• tīrtha-yugmam: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + yugma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तीर्थयोः युग्मम्) = pair of sacred fords

• dharā-tale: on the earth
• dharā-tale: Adhikaraṇa (location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (धरायाः तलम्) = on the surface of the earth

• āgatya: having come
• āgatya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-√gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) = having come

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तर/प्रसङ्ग-निर्देशक) = then; now

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन = a man

• dūrāt: from afar
• dūrāt: Apādāna (source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/अव्ययीभाववत्, पञ्चमी एकवचन (दूरात्) = from afar

• tābhyām: by those two
• tābhyām: Karaṇa (instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया द्विवचन = by/with those two (two tīrthas)

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) = having done

• nimajjanam: immersion (bath)
• nimajjanam: Karma (object of kṛtvā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nimajjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन = immersion/bathing dip

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tīrtha-yugma

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim approaches from a distant road with staff and waterpot; ahead lie two adjacent sacred waterbodies (or two ghāṭs) marked by flags and lamps. The act of immersion is shown as sequential—first one, then the other.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrthayugma
• Pilgrim (nara)
• Dharātala (earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s sanctity spreads through lived legend; pilgrims are encouraged to travel even long distances for purifying immersion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A famed “tīrthayugma” in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Adhyāya 198—two connected bathing sites revered on earth.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nimajjana (ritual immersion/bathing) in both tīrthas.