Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

गोमत्यां यः सकृत्स्नात्वा पश्येत्कृष्णमुखांबुजम् । सर्वानुद्धरते पापादपि त्रैलाक्यदाहकात्

Transliteration

gomatyāṃ yaḥ sakṛtsnātvā paśyetkṛṣṇamukhāṃbujam | sarvānuddharate pāpādapi trailākyadāhakāt

Translation

Quiconque se baigne ne fût-ce qu’une fois dans la Gomatī et contemple le visage de Kṛṣṇa, pareil au lotus, délivre tous du péché, même de ceux qui embrasent les trois mondes.

Word by Word

• गोमत्याम्: in (the river) Gomati
• गोमत्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोमती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Relative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सकृत्: once
• सकृत्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सकृत् (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/आवृत्तिवाचक अव्यय (once)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• पश्येत्: should see
• पश्येत्: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• कृष्णमुखाम्बुजम्: Kṛṣṇa’s lotus-like face
• कृष्णमुखाम्बुजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण-मुख-अम्बुज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कृष्णस्य मुखम्; मुखम् अम्बुजम् इव) समाससमूहः, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सर्वान्: all (persons)
• सर्वान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• उद्धरते: lifts out, delivers
• उद्धरते: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + हृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

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

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक निपात (also/even)

• त्रैलाक्यदाहकात्: from the burner of the three worlds (i.e., terrible sin/hellfire)
• त्रैलाक्यदाहकात्: Apadana (Source/अपाादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रैलोक्य-दाहक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (त्रैलोक्यस्य दाहकः), पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

Speaker

Pāṃthika (within Vasiṣṭha’s narrated dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gomatī (Dvārakā)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (addressed as rājan, anagha)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim enters the Gomatī at dawn, water shimmering; after snāna he beholds Kṛṣṇa’s lotus-like face—radiant, compassionate—while the darkness of sin is shown dissolving like smoke across the three worlds.

Characters & Entities

• Gomatī River
• Kṛṣṇa
• Dvārakā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bathing in a sanctified tīrtha and beholding the Lord grants profound purification and upliftment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gomatī river-tīrtha at Dvārakā is explicitly glorified.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) in the Gomatī and darśana (beholding) of Kṛṣṇa.