Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महीपाल सोमतीर्थमनुत्तमम् । चन्द्रहासेति विख्यातं सर्वदैवतपूजितम्

Transliteration

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tato gacchenmahīpāla somatīrthamanuttamam | candrahāseti vikhyātaṃ sarvadaivatapūjitam

Translation

ശ്രീ മാർകണ്ഡേയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അതിനുശേഷം, ഹേ മഹീപാലാ (രാജാവേ)! അനുത്തമമായ സോമതീർത്ഥത്തിലേക്കു പോകണം; അത് ‘ചന്ദ്രഹാസ’ എന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധവും സർവ്വദേവന്മാർ പൂജിക്കുന്നതുമാണ്।

Word by Word

• śrī-mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: the venerable Mārkaṇḍeya
• śrī-mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (श्री प्रातिपदिक) + mārkaṇḍeya (मार्कण्डेय प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः कर्मधारय (honorific qualifier); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Desha-Kala (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (ततः अव्यय/तद्-प्रभव)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रम/अनन्तरार्थक (then/thereafter)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: लोट्/विधिलिङ् (injunctive/optative sense), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; विध्यर्थ (should go)

• mahīpāla: O king (protector of the earth)
• mahīpāla: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (मही प्रातिपदिक) + pāla (पाल प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (mahīyāḥ pālaḥ); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• soma-tīrtham: Soma-tīrtha
• soma-tīrtham: Karma (Destination/Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: soma (सोम प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (तीर्थ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुष (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी: somasya tīrtham); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• anuttamam: unsurpassed, excellent
• anuttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuttama (अनुत्तम प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (superlative: unsurpassed)

• candrahāsa: (called) Candrahāsa
• candrahāsa: Karma (Apposition to tīrtha/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: candra (चन्द्र) + hāsa (हास)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-प्राय (candrahāsa = ‘moon-smile’ as name); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (नाम)

• iti: thus, as
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, इत्यादि-उद्धरणसूचक (quotative)

• vikhyātam: renowned
• vikhyātam: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: khyā (ख्या धातु) + vi + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘well-known’

• sarva-daivata-pūjitam: worshipped by all deities
• sarva-daivata-pūjitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (सर्व) + daivata (दैवत) + pūjita (पूजित; pūj धातु + क्त)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुष (sarvaiḥ daivataiḥ pūjitam / sarvadaivatair pūjitam); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Somatīrtha (Candrahāsa)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (addressed as mahīpāla)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya instructs Yudhiṣṭhira to go to Somatīrtha called Candrahāsa; the tīrtha is shown as a luminous riverbank with a crescent motif and devas offering worship.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Somatīrtha
• Candrahāsa
• Devas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage (tīrtha-yātrā) is presented as a dharmic act, and Somatīrtha is introduced as exceptionally sacred.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Somatīrtha, also known as Candrahāsa, within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s tīrtha landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is to go (gacchet) to Somatīrtha for worship/participation in its sanctity.