Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

एतद्धि तन्महातीर्थं प्राचीनेति च शब्दितम् । स्नानक्रमेण मर्त्त्यानामन्येषामपि पावकम्

Transliteration

etaddhi tanmahātīrthaṃ prācīneti ca śabditam | snānakrameṇa marttyānāmanyeṣāmapi pāvakam

Translation

Ceci est bien ce grand tīrtha, renommé sous le nom de « Prācīna ». Par l’accomplissement dû des rites du bain sacré en ce lieu, il devient purificateur pour les humains — et pour d’autres aussi.

Word by Word

• etad: this
• etad: Karta (Subject/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (विषयः)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha/Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थक

• tat: that
• tat: Karma/Subject qualifier (to mahātīrtham)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; महातीर्थम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• mahātīrtham: the great sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• mahātīrtham: Karta (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयः (mahā-tīrtha = महत् तीर्थम्); नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा

• prācīna-iti: “Prācīna” (by name)
• prācīna-iti: Nāma/Quotation (Appellation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prācīna (प्रातिपदिक) + iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-प्रयोगः (quotative); prācīna शब्दः नामरूपेण उद्धृतः

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• śabditam: is called/termed
• śabditam: Kriyā (Predicate: passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śabd (धातु)
• Form: क्त (PPP) ‘śabdita’; नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि—‘is called/termed’

• snānakrameṇa: by the procedure of bathing
• snānakrameṇa: Karaṇa (Means/manner)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (snānasya kramaḥ); पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया, एकवचन; साधन/प्रकारवाचक

• marttyānām: of mortals
• marttyānām: Sambandha (Genitive: for/of)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• anyeṣām: of others
• anyeṣām: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; marttyānām इत्यस्य समुच्चय/विशेषणभावः

• api: also
• api: Sambandha/Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• pāvakam: purifying
• pāvakam: Karta (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāvaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; महातीर्थम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Śiva (addressing Devī/Pārvatī in a tīrtha-māhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prācīna

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred ford labeled ‘Prācīna’ with pilgrims performing orderly bathing rites—some offering water, some reciting mantras—while the tīrtha radiates a subtle luminous aura indicating purification.

Characters & Entities

• Prācīna Tīrtha
• Prabhāsa Kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha becomes transformative when approached with correct ritual discipline; proper snāna is praised as intrinsically purifying.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Prācīna Mahātīrtha within Prabhāsa Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna performed according to the proper krama (sequence/observance) at the tīrtha.