Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महाराज सोमतीर्थमनुत्तमम् । यत्र सोमस्तपस्तप्त्वा नक्षत्रपथमास्थितः

Transliteration

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tato gacchenmahārāja somatīrthamanuttamam | yatra somastapastaptvā nakṣatrapathamāsthitaḥ

Translation

ശ്രീ മാർകണ്ഡേയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അതിന് ശേഷം, ഹേ മഹാരാജാ, അനുത്തമമായ സോമതീർത്ഥത്തിലേക്ക് പോകണം; അവിടെ സോമൻ (ചന്ദ്രൻ) തപസ്സു ചെയ്ത് നക്ഷത്രപഥം പ്രാപിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: the venerable Mārkaṇḍeya
• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री-मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular) — कर्मधारय: श्रीमान् मार्कण्डेयः

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Speech act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपद (parasmaipada)

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb) — अनन्तरार्थ (thereafter)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Injunction/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपद

• महाराज: O great king
• महाराज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सम्बोधन विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (singular) — कर्मधारय: महान् राजा

• सोमतीर्थम्: to the Soma-tīrtha
• सोमतीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular) — तत्पुरुष: सोमस्य तीर्थम्

• अनुत्तमम्: unsurpassed
• अनुत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular) — विशेषण (qualifying somatīrtham)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्धबोधक/relative adverb) — देशवाचक (where)

• सोमः: Soma (the Moon-god)
• सोमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• तप्त्वा: having practiced (it)
• तप्त्वा: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव — 'having performed austerity'

• नक्षत्रपथम्: the path of the stars (lunar mansion track)
• नक्षत्रपथम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्षत्र-पथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular) — तत्पुरुष: नक्षत्राणां पथः

• आस्थितः: has attained/occupied
• आस्थितः: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन — कर्तरि प्रयोग (active sense): 'having taken/attained'

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Somatīrtha

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king; addressed as ‘mahārāja’/‘bhārata’ in the sequence)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya instructs a king on pilgrimage; in the background, a moon-deity (Soma) performs austerities by the river, then rises into a starry sky aligning with the nakṣatra path.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Soma (Candra)
• Somatīrtha
• Nakṣatras

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places become powerful through divine austerity; pilgrimage to such tīrthas connects the devotee to that same elevating merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Somatīrtha, a revered tīrtha described in the Revākhaṇḍa of the Āvantya Khaṇḍa (associated with the Revā/Narmadā sacred landscape).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

This verse primarily prescribes going (gacchet) to Somatīrtha; subsequent verses detail snāna, japa, and dāna there.