Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

मातृतीर्थं महापुण्यं सर्वातंकहरं परम् । मातृतीर्थात्पुनस्तस्मान्नातिदूरे व्यवस्थितम्

Transliteration

mātṛtīrthaṃ mahāpuṇyaṃ sarvātaṃkaharaṃ param | mātṛtīrthātpunastasmānnātidūre vyavasthitam

Translation

Il est le Mātṛ-tīrtha, d’un mérite immense, suprême, qui dissipe toute affliction. Et depuis ce Mātṛ-tīrtha, non loin de là, se tient encore un autre lieu sacré.

Word by Word

• mātṛ-tīrtham: Mātṛ-tīrtha
• mātṛ-tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तीर्थ-नाम

• mahā-puṇyam: very meritorious
• mahā-puṇyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (मातृतीर्थस्य)

• sarva-ātaṅka-haram: removing all afflictions
• sarva-ātaṅka-haram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + ātaṅka (प्रातिपदिक) + hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सर्वान् आतङ्कान् हरति इति); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• param: supreme/excellent
• param: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• mātṛ-tīrthāt: from Mātṛ-tīrtha
• mātṛ-tīrthāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛtīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन

• punas: again/further
• punas: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; adverb

• tasmāt: from that
• tasmāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुल्लिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन

• na-ati-dūre: not very far (away)
• na-ati-dūre: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय) + ati (अव्यय) + dūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नातिदूरे = न + अतिदूरे; अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः; 'not very far' इति देशवाचक-अव्ययप्रयोग

• vyavasthitam: is situated
• vyavasthitam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ava-√sthā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणवत् (स्थितम् = 'is located')

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced from Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa māhātmya narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mātṛtīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Interlocutor within Prabhāsa-māhātmya (continuity)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene tīrtha pool shaded by trees; a maternal goddess presence is suggested—either as Mātṛkās or a single benevolent Devī—while pilgrims offer flowers and take healing snāna.

Characters & Entities

• Mātṛtīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places (tīrthas) are praised as Dharma-bearing centers where suffering and obstacles are diminished through sacred contact and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mātṛ-tīrtha within Prabhāsa-kṣetra, described as highly meritorious and trouble-destroying.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated in this verse; it functions as a māhātmya-style identification and praise of the tīrtha.