Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

भूमिभागाः पवित्राः स्युः कीर्त्यते तीर्थमित्युत । तेषां संदर्शनादेव स्मरणाच्चावगाहनात् । मुच्यंते जन्तवः पापैरपि जन्मशतोद्भवैः

Transliteration

bhūmibhāgāḥ pavitrāḥ syuḥ kīrtyate tīrthamityuta | teṣāṃ saṃdarśanādeva smaraṇāccāvagāhanāt | mucyaṃte jantavaḥ pāpairapi janmaśatodbhavaiḥ

Translation

大地のある部分はまことに清浄であり、それゆえ「ティールタ」と称えられる。そこをただ拝見し、ただ想起し、そこで沐浴し身を浸すだけで、衆生は罪より解き放たれる—百の生にわたり積んだ罪でさえも。

Word by Word

• bhūmi-bhāgāḥ: parts/regions of the earth
• bhūmi-bhāgāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• pavitrāḥ: pure, sacred
• pavitrāḥ: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pavitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (adjective) भूतार्थे

• syuḥ: may be/are (should be)
• syuḥ: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• kīrtyate: is called/celebrated
• kīrtyate: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kīrt (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• tīrtham: a sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-शब्दः; उद्धरण/निरूपणार्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• uta: indeed/also
• uta: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: uta (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अनुनासिकार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic/also)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• saṃdarśanāt: from seeing (them)
• saṃdarśanāt: Apādāna (Source/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃdarśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• smaraṇāt: from remembering
• smaraṇāt: Apādāna (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• avagāhanāt: from bathing/immersing (therein)
• avagāhanāt: Apādāna (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avagāhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• mucyante: are freed
• mucyante: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि/भावे अर्थः (are released)

• jantavaḥ: creatures, beings
• jantavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• pāpaiḥ: from/by sins
• pāpaiḥ: Hetu/Instrument (Cause/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-शब्दः; अपि=अप्यर्थे (even/also)

• janma-śata-udbhavaiḥ: arisen from a hundred births
• janma-śata-udbhavaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक) + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying pāpaiḥ)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī (addressed as ‘sarvāṅgasundarī’ in the passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim approaches a radiant tīrtha on earth; the very ground glows with sanctity. Three acts are shown in sequence—seeing the waters, remembering with folded hands, and immersing—while dark stains (sins) dissolve into light.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha
• bhūmibhāga (sacred land region)
• snāna/avagāhana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrthas sanctify through multiple modes—seeing, remembering, and bathing—showing how sacred geography works through both body and mind.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse speaks generally of tīrtha-regions (bhūmibhāgāḥ) rather than naming a particular river or shrine.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Avagāhana (ritual bathing/immersion) at a tīrtha, along with darśana (visiting) and smaraṇa (remembrance).