Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

स्वच्छंदा भारती देवी जिह्वाग्रे ते भविष्यति । कृत्वा रामायणं काव्यं ततो मोक्षं गमिष्यसि

Transliteration

svacchaṃdā bhāratī devī jihvāgre te bhaviṣyati | kṛtvā rāmāyaṇaṃ kāvyaṃ tato mokṣaṃ gamiṣyasi

Translation

La déesse Bhāratī (Sarasvatī), se mouvant librement selon son gré, demeurera sur la pointe de ta langue. Après avoir composé le poème épique du «Rāmāyaṇa», tu atteindras ensuite la délivrance (mokṣa).

Word by Word

• स्वच्छन्दा: free, spontaneous
• स्वच्छन्दा: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वच्छन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भारती: Bhāratī (goddess of speech)
• भारती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• देवी: goddess
• देवी: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• जिह्वाग्रे: on the tip of the tongue
• जिह्वाग्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जिह्वा (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जिह्वायाः अग्रे)

• ते: of you, your
• ते: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन (enclitic genitive)

• भविष्यति: will be
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कृत्वा: having composed/made
• कृत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कृत्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्ययभाव (gerund/क्त्वान्त), ‘having done/made’

• रामायणम्: the Rāmāyaṇa
• रामायणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रामायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• काव्यम्: poem, epic
• काव्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; appositional to रामायणम्

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/अनन्तर-अव्यय (adverb: ‘then/thereafter’)

• मोक्षम्: liberation
• मोक्षम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• गमिष्यसि: you will go/attain
• गमिष्यसि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple future), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Ṛṣayaḥ (the sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The sādhaka (future Vālmīki) and attending sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sarasvatī (Bhāratī) appears as a luminous presence at the ascetic’s tongue-tip—symbolically as a radiant syllable/lotus—while sages foretell the composition of the Rāmāyaṇa and final liberation.

Characters & Entities

• Bhāratī (Sarasvatī)
• Vālmīki
• Rāmāyaṇa
• Mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace empowers dharmic speech and sacred composition, and such God-aligned work can culminate in mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to Prabhāsa-kṣetra māhātmya; this verse highlights the boon to Vālmīki rather than a distinct tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the verse foretells a divine boon (vāg-devatā’s presence) and the composition of a dharmic kāvya.