Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

सर्वतीर्थानि पुण्यानि देवतायतनानि च । नद्यः सर्वा महाशूद्र तीर्थत्वं प्राप्नुवंति हि

Transliteration

sarvatīrthāni puṇyāni devatāyatanāni ca | nadyaḥ sarvā mahāśūdra tīrthatvaṃ prāpnuvaṃti hi

Translation

Tous les tīrtha méritoires, tous les sanctuaires des divinités et tous les fleuves—ô grand Śūdra—atteignent en vérité la dignité de tīrtha (par rapport à cette sainteté).

Word by Word

• sarvatīrthāni: all sacred fords/holy places
• sarvatīrthāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (sarvāṇi tīrthāni)

• puṇyāni: holy/meritorious
• puṇyāni: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (sarvatīrthāni)

• devatāyatanāni: temples/abodes of deities
• devatāyatanāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक) + āyatana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (devatāyāḥ āyatanam)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• nadyaḥ: rivers
• nadyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (nadyaḥ)

• mahāśūdra: O great Śūdra (address)
• mahāśūdra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahāśūdra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (mahān śūdraḥ)

• tīrthatvam: the status of a sacred ford
• tīrthatvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + -tva (तद्धित-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; भाववाचक-तद्धितान्त

• prāpnuvanti: attain
• prāpnuvanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √āp (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha/Particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (indeed)

Speaker

Gālava

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: mahāśūdra (addressed interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic sacred landscape where rivers, ghāṭas, and deity-shrines glow as if ‘activated’ by an unseen central sanctity; pilgrims perceive every watercourse and temple as a tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha
• devatāyatanas (temples)
• rivers

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holiness is not narrowly confined; rivers, temples, and tīrthas are affirmed as universally sanctifying within Purāṇic sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rather than one named place, the verse praises the broader network of tīrthas, temples, and rivers as bearers of tīrtha-nature.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No single rite is prescribed here; it establishes the principle of tīrtha-status for sacred places and rivers, supporting pilgrimage and worship.