Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

तीर्थेभ्यस्तु परं तीर्थमिदं वै पावनं परम् । इन्द्रसेनो ह्यतः पापात्तीर्थसंगाद्व्यमुच्यत

Transliteration

tīrthebhyastu paraṃ tīrthamidaṃ vai pāvanaṃ param | indraseno hyataḥ pāpāttīrthasaṃgādvyamucyata

Translation

Ce tīrtha est véritablement le tīrtha suprême, plus élevé que tous les autres gués sacrés, excellent au plus haut point pour purifier. Car Indrasena fut délivré du péché précisément par le contact avec ce tīrtha.

Word by Word

• तीर्थेभ्यः: from (all) sacred places
• तीर्थेभ्यः: Apadana (अपादान/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), बहुवचन

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; विशेषण तीर्थम्-शब्दस्य

• तीर्थम्: a sacred place
• तीर्थम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण तीर्थम्-शब्दस्य

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• पावनम्: purifying
• पावनम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पावन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण तीर्थम्-शब्दस्य

• परम्: supremely
• परम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (re-emphasis)

• इन्द्रसेनः: Indrasena
• इन्द्रसेनः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रसेन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (proper noun)

• हि: for/indeed
• हि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Reason marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतौ/निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle: for/indeed)

• अतः: therefore/from this
• अतः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Inference)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतः (अव्यय)
• Form: तस्मात्-अर्थे अव्यय (therefore/from this)

• पापात्: from sin
• पापात्: Apadana (अपादान/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तीर्थ-संगात्: due to contact with the sacred place
• तीर्थ-संगात्: Hetu (हेतु/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + संग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'तीर्थस्य संगः' (association/contact with the tīrtha)

• व्यमुच्यत: was freed
• व्यमुच्यत: Kriya (क्रिया/Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद/कर्मणि-भावे (passive sense): 'was released'

Speaker

Pulastya (deduced from immediate narrative context of Arbuda Khaṇḍa dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Raktānubandha-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages point toward a sacred ford shimmering with sanctity; a narrative inset shows Indrasena touching/bathing at the tīrtha as dark ‘sin’ dissolves into light.

Characters & Entities

• Indrasena
• Tīrtha (Raktānubandha—contextual)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Association with a truly sanctifying tīrtha can dissolve even entrenched sin when approached with reverence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage praises the tīrtha later named Raktānubandha, celebrated within the Arbuda Khaṇḍa as supremely purifying.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the emphasis is on tīrtha-saṅga—going to and associating with the sacred place.