Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 95

Devanagari script

प्रयागे यद्भवेत्पुण्यं गयायां च त्रिपुष्करे । कुरुक्षेत्रे तु राजेन्द्र राहुग्रस्ते दिवाकरे

Transliteration

prayāge yadbhavetpuṇyaṃ gayāyāṃ ca tripuṣkare | kurukṣetre tu rājendra rāhugraste divākare

Translation

ഹേ രാജേന്ദ്രാ! പ്രയാഗത്തിൽ, ഗയയിൽ, ത്രിപുഷ്കരത്തിൽ ലഭിക്കുന്ന പുണ്യം, കൂടാതെ കുരുക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ രാഹുഗ്രസ്ത ദിവാകരൻ (ഗ്രഹണസമയത്ത്) ലഭിക്കുന്ന പുണ്യം…

Word by Word

• prayāge: at Prayāga
• prayāge: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• yat: which
• yat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative)

• bhavet: may be / would arise
• bhavet: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• gayāyām: at Gayā
• gayāyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gayā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

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

• tripuṣkare: at Tripuṣkara
• tripuṣkare: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + puṣkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (त्रीणि पुष्कराणि/त्रिपुष्कर-तीर्थ)

• kurukṣetre: at Kurukṣetra
• kurukṣetre: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuru (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कुरूणां क्षेत्रम्)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विशेषार्थक

• rājendra: O king
• rājendra: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय

• rāhu-graste: when seized by Rāhu (eclipsed)
• rāhu-graste: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rāhu (प्रातिपदिक) + grasta (कृदन्त; √gras धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (राहुणा ग्रस्तः)

• divākare: in the sun
• divākare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: divākara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: narrator addressing a king — 'rājendra')

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prayāga; Gayā; Tripuṣkara; Kurukṣetra (grahaṇa-kāla)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: rājendra (a king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A map-like montage: four sacred scenes in panels—Prayāga sangam with confluence, Gayā with piṇḍa offerings, Tripuṣkara with lotus lake and Brahmā shrine, Kurukṣetra with darkened sun during eclipse and crowds bathing—suggesting a grand comparative scale.

Characters & Entities

• Prayāga
• Gayā
• Tripuṣkara
• Kurukṣetra
• Rāhu
• Sūrya (Divākara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography teaches that certain tīrthas concentrate vast merit, comparable to India’s most renowned pilgrimage sites and auspicious eclipse-times.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The unnamed Revā/Narmadā tīrtha under discussion, whose merit is being compared to Prayāga, Gayā, Tripuṣkara, and Kurukṣetra during an eclipse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied: tīrtha-related merit commonly obtained through snāna (bathing) and pilgrimage, with special emphasis on eclipse-time sanctity.