Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि पिंगलीं पापनाशिनीम् । ऋषितीर्थात्पश्चिमतो नदीं सागरगामिनीम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi piṃgalīṃ pāpanāśinīm | ṛṣitīrthātpaścimato nadīṃ sāgaragāminīm

Translation

Īśvara dit : Alors, ô Mahādevī, qu’on se rende à la Piṅgalī, destructrice des péchés, la rivière située à l’ouest de Ṛṣi-tīrtha et qui s’écoule vers l’océan.

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (Lord)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; वक्ता (speaker)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्यय-प्रयोग (adverb)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; आदेश/विधानार्थ (injunctive sense: ‘should go’)

• mahādevi: O great goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-devī (प्रातिपदिक; महा + देवी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; सम्बोधित-श्रोत्री (addressed person)

• piṃgalīm: to Piṅgalī (river)
• piṃgalīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: piṃgalī (प्रातिपदिक; नदी-नाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; कर्म (object of ‘gacchet’)

• pāpanāśinīm: sin-destroying
• pāpanāśinīm: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa-nāśinī (प्रातिपदिक; पाप + नाशिनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; piṃgalīm इति विशेषणम्

• ṛṣitīrthāt: from Ṛṣi-tīrtha
• ṛṣitīrthāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi-tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक; ऋषि + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचन; अपादानम् (source: ‘from Ṛṣi-tīrtha’)

• paścimataḥ: to the west / westward
• paścimataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paścima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोगवत् अव्यय (adverbial usage), दिशावाचक (directional adverb)

• nadīm: the river
• nadīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; piṃgalīm इत्यस्य अप्पोजिशन/विशेष्य (apposition: ‘the river’)

• sāgaragāminīm: flowing to the ocean
• sāgaragāminīm: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sāgara-gāminī (प्रातिपदिक; सागर + गामिनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; nadīm/piṃgalīm इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Piṅgalī

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva points out a westward path from Ṛṣi-tīrtha to a river named Piṅgalī, shown as a golden-brown (piṅgala) stream winding through coastal scrub and meeting the blue ocean; pilgrims walk with flags and water pots.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Piṅgalī River
• Ṛṣi-tīrtha
• Ocean (Sāgara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is itself a dharmic path: moving from tīrtha to tīrtha with reverence is presented as a sin-cleansing pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Piṅgalī River near Prabhāsa Kṣetra, west of Ṛṣi-tīrtha, flowing to the ocean.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pilgrimage instruction: ‘go’ to the Piṅgalī river (prelude to bathing/seeing described in subsequent verses).