Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

गोदावरी महापुण्या गया तिस्रस्तु मंगलाः । शालिग्रामं महाक्षेत्रं पुण्या चक्रनदी शुभा

Transliteration

godāvarī mahāpuṇyā gayā tisrastu maṃgalāḥ | śāligrāmaṃ mahākṣetraṃ puṇyā cakranadī śubhā

Translation

La très sainte Godāvarī; Gayā; les trois auspiciennes (cours ou lieux); Śāligrāma, grande région sacrée; et la Cakra-nadī, bénie et sainte—(toutes étaient présentes).

Word by Word

• गोदावरी: Godāvarī (river)
• गोदावरी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोदावरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• महापुण्या: very holy
• महापुण्या: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महापुण्य (प्रातिपदिक; महा + पुण्य)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (adjective)

• गया: Gayā (holy place)
• गया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तिस्रः: three
• तिस्रः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (सङ्ख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण (numeral adjective)

• तु: and/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/अन्वयार्थे (but/indeed)

• मंगलाः: auspicious
• मंगलाः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मङ्गल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• शालिग्रामम्: Śāligram (sacred place/stone)
• शालिग्रामम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शालिग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन

• महाक्षेत्रम्: great sacred field (great holy place)
• महाक्षेत्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाक्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक; महत् + क्षेत्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पुण्या: holy
• पुण्या: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• चक्रनदी: Cakra-nadī (river)
• चक्रनदी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्रनदी (प्रातिपदिक; चक्र + नदी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शुभा: auspicious
• शुभा: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Prahlāda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śāligrāma-kṣetra; Gayā; Godāvarī; Cakra-nadī (invoked)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas/ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred assembly: Godāvarī as a river-goddess with a broad stream; Gayā as a venerable kṣetra-personification with piṇḍa offerings; Śāligrāma as a dark sacred stone on a lotus pedestal; Cakra-nadī as a river bearing a luminous discus emblem—each oriented toward Dvārakā.

Characters & Entities

• Godāvarī
• Gayā
• Śāligrāma
• Cakra-nadī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa maps a devotional geography: famed tīrthas are invoked together to emphasize the concentrated sanctity of the narrative’s focal dhāma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Multiple tīrthas are named (Godāvarī, Gayā, Śāligrāma), while the chapter’s larger glorification centers on Dvārakā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; though Gayā traditionally implies śrāddha rites, this verse itself is only enumerative.