Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

प्रविष्टा सागरे देवि अन्वेषन्ती च बांधवम् । ततश्चित्रपथानाम तस्याश्चक्रुर्द्विजातयः

Transliteration

praviṣṭā sāgare devi anveṣantī ca bāṃdhavam | tataścitrapathānāma tasyāścakrurdvijātayaḥ

Translation

Entrant dans l’océan, ô Déesse, et cherchant son parent, les deux-fois-nés lui donnèrent alors le nom de « Citrapathā ».

Word by Word

• प्रविष्टा: entered
• प्रविष्टा: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-विश् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle, active sense), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'entered'

• सागरे: in the ocean
• सागरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• देवि: O goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• अन्वेषन्ती: seeking
• अन्वेषन्ती: Kriya (Concurrent action/सहक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु-इष्/एष् (धातु: अन्वेष्) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle, शतृ), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• बांधवम्: (her) kinsman/relative
• बांधवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बान्धव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Sequence/अनुक्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: 'then')

• चित्रपथानाम: of (the place called) Citrapatha(s)
• चित्रपथानाम: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्र-पथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; 'of the Citra-paths' (name)

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• चक्रुः: made/created
• चक्रुः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• द्विजातयः: the twice-born (Brahmins etc.)
• द्विजातयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वि-जाति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

Unspecified in excerpt (within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya narration; traditionally Sūta narrating to sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Citrapathā (river/tīrtha)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as ‘devi’, ‘varavarṇini’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A woman (addressed as Devī) steps into the ocean, searching for a kinsman; nearby, brahmins confer and bestow the name ‘Citrapathā’ upon the emerging sacred current.

Characters & Entities

• Sea (Sāgara)
• Citrapathā
• Dvijāti (twice-born)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography preserves memory: names of rivers and tīrthas encode devotion, search, and sanctification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Citrapathā (river-tīrtha) and its meeting with the sea within Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual; it explains the tīrtha’s naming and coastal sacred setting.