Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

यानि कानि च पुण्यानि तीर्थक्षेत्राणि संति वै । त्रैलोक्ये तानि सर्वाणि गौतम्यां वीक्ष्य विस्मिताः

Transliteration

yāni kāni ca puṇyāni tīrthakṣetrāṇi saṃti vai | trailokye tāni sarvāṇi gautamyāṃ vīkṣya vismitāḥ

Translation

三界に存在するいかなる聖なるティールタと霊地も、ガウタミーにことごとく集まったかのように見えたので、彼らは驚嘆して言葉を失った。

Word by Word

• yāni: which (things)
• yāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), बहुवचन

• kāni: any / some
• kāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrog./indef. pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• puṇyāni: holy, meritorious
• puṇyāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying yāni/kāni)

• tīrtha-kṣetrāṇi: pilgrimage-places (sacred fields)
• tīrtha-kṣetrāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/निर्धारणार्थ (determinative: 'tīrtha as kṣetra'), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), बहुवचन

• santi: are, exist
• santi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• trailokye: in the three worlds
• trailokye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri-loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (tri + loka), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

• tāni: those
• tāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (demonstrative pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), बहुवचन

• sarvāṇi: all
• sarvāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying tāni)

• gautamyām: in/at (the river) Gautamī
• gautamyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gautamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

• vīkṣya: having seen
• vīkṣya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-īkṣ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having seen’

• vismitāḥ: astonished
• vismitāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-smita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √smi)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom.), बहुवचन; कर्तृविशेषण

Speaker

Narrative voice within Dvārakā Māhātmya (speaker not explicit in the excerpt)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gautamī (Godāvarī)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary river-scape where countless tīrthas appear as reflections or emanations within the Godāvarī: miniature ghāṭas, temples, mountains, and confluences shimmering on the water’s surface; devas and sages gaze in astonishment.

Characters & Entities

• Gautamī (Godāvarī)
• Trailokya (three worlds)
• Tīrtha-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supremely sanctified river-tīrtha can be revered as containing the merit of all other tīrthas, concentrating spiritual benefit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gautamī—identified with the Godāvarī—is praised as embodying the sanctity of all tīrtha-kṣetras.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse functions as a sweeping eulogy to motivate pilgrimage and reverence.