Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

एकदा फलमादातुं भ्रममाणाऽर्बुदाचले । माघशुक्लतृतीयायां पतिता गिरिनिर्झरे

Transliteration

ekadā phalamādātuṃ bhramamāṇā'rbudācale | māghaśuklatṛtīyāyāṃ patitā girinirjhare

Translation

Un jour, errant sur le mont Arbuda pour cueillir des fruits, au troisième jour lunaire de la quinzaine claire de Māgha, elle tomba dans un torrent de montagne.

Word by Word

• एकदा: once
• एकदा: Kala-adhikarana (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एकदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) — indeclinable ‘once’

• फलम्: fruit
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — accusative singular

• आदातुम्: to take, to pick up
• आदातुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + √दा (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive) — ‘to take’

• भ्रममाणा: wandering
• भ्रममाणा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्), आत्मनेपदी; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — present participle ‘wandering’

• अर्बुदाचले: on Mount Arbuda
• अर्बुदाचले: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्बुद + अचल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — locative singular; (अर्बुदस्य अचलः)

• माघशुक्लतृतीयायाम्: on the third (lunar day) of the bright fortnight of Māgha
• माघशुक्लतृतीयायाम्: Kala-adhikarana (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माघ + शुक्ल + तृतीया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — locative singular; (माघस्य शुक्लपक्षस्य तृतीया)

• पतिता: fell
• पतिता: Kriya (Verbal predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पतित (√पत् धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) — past participle; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्रियार्थे ‘fell’

• गिरिनिर्झरे: in a mountain waterfall
• गिरिनिर्झरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि + निर्झर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — locative singular; (गिरेः निर्झरः)

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-tīrtha (mountain springs of Arbudācala)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king addressed as ‘mahārāja’

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A forested sacred mountain with a narrow cascade; a woman gathering fruit slips and falls into a clear mountain rivulet under bright Māgha skies, suggesting destiny turning at a tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Arbuda (mountain)
• Māgha śukla tṛtīyā
• giri-nirjhara (mountain stream)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even an accidental contact with sanctified waters at an auspicious time can become the turning point in a tīrtha’s saving narrative.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda mountain sacred landscape, leading into the Rūpatīrtha-associated waters/stream.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse highlights auspicious calendrical timing (Māgha śukla tṛtīyā) and contact with sacred water (a snāna motif), though not yet as an explicit injunction.