Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

प्रयागे वा कुरुक्षेत्रे सरस्वत्यां च सागरे । गयायां वा रुद्रपदे नरनारायणाश्रमे

Transliteration

prayāge vā kurukṣetre sarasvatyāṃ ca sāgare | gayāyāṃ vā rudrapade naranārāyaṇāśrame

Translation

Que ce soit à Prayāga, à Kurukṣetra, sur la Sarasvatī et au bord de l’océan; à Gayā, à Rudrapada, ou dans l’āśrama de Nara et Nārāyaṇa—

Word by Word

• प्रयागे: in Prayāga
• प्रयागे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रयाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (masculine, locative singular)

• वा: or
• वा: Samuccaya/Vikalpa (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पबोधक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: “or”)

• कुरुक्षेत्रे: in Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुक्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (neuter, locative singular); तत्पुरुषः (कुरूणां क्षेत्रम्)

• सरस्वत्याम्: on/in the Sarasvatī (river)
• सरस्वत्याम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (feminine, locative singular)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• सागरे: in the ocean/sea
• सागरे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (masculine, locative singular)

• गयायाम्: in Gayā
• गयायाम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (feminine, locative singular)

• वा: or
• वा: Samuccaya/Vikalpa (Alternative/विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पबोधक-अव्यय (or)

• रुद्रपदे: at Rudrapada
• रुद्रपदे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्रपद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (neuter, locative singular); तत्पुरुषः (रुद्रस्य पदम्)

• नरनारायणाश्रमे: in the Nara-Nārāyaṇa hermitage
• नरनारायणाश्रमे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक) + नारायण (प्रातिपदिक) + आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन (masculine, locative singular); तत्पुरुषः (नरनारायणयोः आश्रमः)

Speaker

Narrator of the Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa (contextual Purāṇic narrator addressing a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prayāga; Kurukṣetra; Sarasvatī; Sāgara; Gayā; Rudrapada; Nara-Nārāyaṇa-āśrama (Badarī)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpottama (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ‘map-mandala’ of India’s sacred sites: concentric or radial arrangement with icons—confluence at Prayāga, dharma-field at Kurukṣetra, Sarasvatī river goddess, ocean shore with waves, Gayā with piṇḍa offerings, a Śiva footprint for Rudrapada, and Himalayan āśrama for Nara-Nārāyaṇa—linked by a pilgrim’s path line.

Characters & Entities

• Prayāga
• Kurukṣetra
• Sarasvatī
• Sāgara
• Gayā
• Rudrapada
• Nara-Nārāyaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇic map of tīrthas links many famed pilgrimage centers as sources of purification and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prayāga, Kurukṣetra, Sarasvatī-tīrthas, the oceanic tīrtha, Gayā, Rudrapada, and the Nara-Nārāyaṇa āśrama are named.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

This verse is a list of tīrthas; ritual details are supplied in surrounding verses (tīrtha-phala, snāna, etc.).