Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

ये पिबंति नराः पुण्यां प्राचीं देवीं सरस्वतीम् । न ते मनुष्या विज्ञेयाः सत्यंसत्यं वरानने

Transliteration

ye pibaṃti narāḥ puṇyāṃ prācīṃ devīṃ sarasvatīm | na te manuṣyā vijñeyāḥ satyaṃsatyaṃ varānane

Translation

Ceux qui boivent la sainte Prācī—la Déesse Sarasvatī—ne doivent pas être tenus pour de simples humains. C’est vérité, vérité, ô toi au beau visage.

Word by Word

• ye: those who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• pibanti: drink
• pibanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; √पा = पिबति

• narāḥ: men/people
• narāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्ता

• puṇyām: holy/meritorious
• puṇyām: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying prācīm/devīm)

• prācīm: Prācī
• prācīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prācī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• devīm: the goddess
• devīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; अप्पोजिशन (same referent as prācīm)

• sarasvatīm: Sarasvatī
• sarasvatīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; अप्पोजिशन (name)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (demonstrative), कर्ता

• manuṣyāḥ: humans
• manuṣyāḥ: Karta (Predicate/कर्तृपद)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विधेय (predicate nominative)

• vijñeyāḥ: to be regarded/known (as)
• vijñeyāḥ: Karta (Predicate qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + jñā (धातु) + ya (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भाव्य (gerundive/विधिलिङ्गार्थ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे विधेयविशेषण (to be known/considered)

• satyam: truly
• satyam: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः; क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative)

• satyam: truly
• satyam: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुनरुक्ति (repetition) बलार्थे; क्रियाविशेषण

• varānane: O fair-faced one
• varānane: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; संबोधन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prācī (Sarasvatī-svarūpā) at Prabhāsa

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Varānanā Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims cup their hands to drink from a radiant stream labeled Prācī; above the water appears a subtle form of Sarasvatī with vīṇā and white garments; those who drink are shown with luminous halos, suggesting they are ‘not mere humans’.

Characters & Entities

• Prācī
• Sarasvatī (as river/goddess)
• Varānanā (Devī epithet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contact with a powerful tīrtha (even by drinking its water) is portrayed as transformative—raising the devotee’s spiritual status.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prācī identified with the divine Sarasvatī at Prabhāsa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pāna (drinking) of the sacred river water of Prācī/Sarasvatī as a meritorious act.