Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

सिन्धुश्च वेदिका चैव नदाः सर्वे वरानने । मूर्तिमत्यः स्थिताः सर्वाः पवित्राः पापनाशिनी

Transliteration

sindhuśca vedikā caiva nadāḥ sarve varānane | mūrtimatyaḥ sthitāḥ sarvāḥ pavitrāḥ pāpanāśinī

Translation

Il y avait aussi le Sindhu et le Vedikā ; en vérité, ô belle de visage, toutes les rivières se tenaient là, incarnées : toutes étaient pures, destructrices du péché.

Word by Word

• सिन्धुः: Sindhu (river/ocean)
• सिन्धुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• वेदिका: Vedikā (name of a river/altar-like)
• वेदिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• नदाः: rivers
• नदाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण (qualifier)

• वरानने: O fair-faced one
• वरानने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरानना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); समासः कर्मधारयः (वर + आनना)

• मूर्तिमत्यः: embodied/with form
• मूर्तिमत्यः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूर्तिमत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण

• स्थिताः: standing/remaining
• स्थिताः: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृदन्त (past participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण

• पवित्राः: pure/holy
• पवित्राः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पवित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण

• पापनाशिनी: destroyer of sins
• पापनाशिनी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पापनाशिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); समासः तत्पुरुषः (पापस्य नाशिनी)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) (narrative voice addressing Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (as sarva-nadī-sāra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: All rivers stand embodied in a grand assembly; the narration emphasizes their purity and sin-destroying power—an aura of cleansing light radiates from the gathered river-devīs.

Characters & Entities

• Sindhu (Indus)
• Vedikā
• Nadāḥ (all rivers)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred rivers are not merely geography; they are living purifiers whose presence removes pāpa and establishes puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, portrayed as a locus where river-divinities manifest for sanctification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly supports snāna and ritual purification, but no explicit injunction is stated in this verse.