Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 97

Devanagari script

याः काश्चित्सरितो लोके तासां पुण्या सरस्वती

Transliteration

yāḥ kāścitsarito loke tāsāṃ puṇyā sarasvatī

Translation

Quels que soient les fleuves du monde, parmi eux Sarasvatī est le fleuve saint, éminent en mérite.

Word by Word

• याः: which (those)
• याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (feminine, nominative plural; relative pronoun)

• काश्चित्: some (any)
• काश्चित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + चित् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun: 'some')

• सरितः: rivers
• सरितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (feminine, nominative plural)

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (masculine, locative singular)

• तासाम्: of them
• तासाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (feminine, genitive plural; pronoun)

• पुण्या: holy
• पुण्या: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (feminine nominative singular)

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī
• सरस्वती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (feminine nominative singular)

Speaker

Unspecified (māhātmya-style eulogy; likely the main narrator continuing the praise)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: a map-like vision of many rivers converging in a cosmic landscape, with Sarasvatī shining brighter, marked by lotuses and sacred light.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Not all sacred waters are described as equal; Purāṇic tradition ranks certain tīrthas as especially merit-giving.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Sarasvatī—understood in the Prabhāsa-kṣetra context as a foremost tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse functions as a declaration of tīrtha-preeminence.