Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

मोदंते तीर्थमरणात्स्वर्गभोगावसानतः । संप्राप्य भारते खंडे कर्मभूमिं महोदयम्

Transliteration

modaṃte tīrthamaraṇātsvargabhogāvasānataḥ | saṃprāpya bhārate khaṃḍe karmabhūmiṃ mahodayam

Translation

Ayant quitté ce monde en un tīrtha, ils se réjouissent; et lorsque s’achève la jouissance du ciel, ils atteignent la contrée de Bhārata—l’exaltée karma-bhūmi, terre de l’action—pour un renouveau de leur essor spirituel.

Word by Word

• मोदन्ते: rejoice; delight
• मोदन्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present); प्रथमपुरुष; बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• तीर्थमरणात्: from dying at a sacred ford/place
• तीर्थमरणात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तीर्थे मरणम्/तीर्थस्य मरणम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी; एकवचन

• स्वर्गभोगावसानतः: from/after the end of heavenly enjoyments
• स्वर्गभोगावसानतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वर्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + भोग (प्रातिपदिक) + अवसान (प्रातिपदिक) + तस् (तद्धित)
• Form: समासपूर्वक तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय; ‘from the end of heavenly enjoyment’

• संप्राप्य: having reached
• संप्राप्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् + प्र + आप् (धातु) + ल्यप्
• Form: ल्यप् (gerund) ‘having attained/reached’

• भारते: in Bhārata (India)
• भारते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचन

• खण्डे: in the region/section
• खण्डे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी; एकवचन

• कर्मभूमिम्: the land of action
• कर्मभूमिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मणः भूमिः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन

• महोदयम्: of great prosperity/exaltation
• महोदयम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + उदय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महान् उदयः यस्य/मह उदयः); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन (कर्मभूमिम् इति विशेषण)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the assembled sages (deduced from Purāṇic narration style within Prabhāsakhaṇḍa māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha tīrtha (within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A departing soul leaves the body at a tīrtha, ascends to a bright heavenly court, then descends gently toward a map-like vision of Bhārata as a fertile ‘field of action’.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha
• Svarga
• Bhārata-khaṇḍa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even heavenly enjoyment is temporary; true progress continues through righteous action in Bhārata, the karma-bhūmi, supported by tīrtha-merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse speaks generally of tīrtha-death within the Prabhāsa context, implying the sanctity of Prabhāsa/Vastrāpatha-kṣetra as a liberative sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the implied practice is tīrtha-sevā—pilgrimage and reverent association with sacred places that confer puṇya.