Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

सर्वतीर्थवरं तीर्थं मणिनागं नृपोत्तम । तीर्थाख्यानमिदं पुण्यं यः पठेच्छृणुयादपि

Transliteration

sarvatīrthavaraṃ tīrthaṃ maṇināgaṃ nṛpottama | tīrthākhyānamidaṃ puṇyaṃ yaḥ paṭhecchṛṇuyādapi

Translation

ഹേ നൃപോത്തമ! മണിനാഗം എല്ലാ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളിലും ശ്രേഷ്ഠമായ തീർത്ഥം. ഈ തീർത്ഥത്തിന്റെ പുണ്യാഖ്യാനം ആരെങ്കിലും വായിക്കുകയോ കേൾക്കുകയോ ചെയ്താൽ പോലും—

Word by Word

• सर्वतीर्थवरम्: the best among all tīrthas
• सर्वतीर्थवरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व-तीर्थ-वर (प्रातिपदिक; सर्व + तीर्थ + वर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• तीर्थम्: sacred place
• तीर्थम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• मणिनागम्: Maṇināga (name of the tīrtha)
• मणिनागम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणि-नाग (प्रातिपदिक; मणि + नाग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तीर्थस्य नाम

• नृपोत्तम: O best of kings
• नृपोत्तम: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप-उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक; नृप + उत्तम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• तीर्थाख्यानम्: account of the tīrtha
• तीर्थाख्यानम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ-आख्यान (प्रातिपदिक; तीर्थ + आख्यान)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• पुण्यम्: meritorious/holy
• पुण्यम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• यः: whoever
• यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• पठेत्: should read
• पठेत्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पठ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• शृणुयात्: should hear
• शृणुयात्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः (particle: also/even)

Speaker

Narrator addressing a king (nṛpottama; exact identity not explicit in excerpt)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Maṇināga

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpottama / Pāṇḍunandana (royal addressee within the discourse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A royal court or forest hermitage where a sage narrates the Maṇināga tīrtha’s greatness to a king (‘nṛpottama’); a manuscript or palm-leaf text is held up as listeners gather reverently.

Characters & Entities

• Maṇināga Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hearing or reciting a tīrtha-māhātmya itself becomes a meritorious act, not only physical travel.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Maṇināga Tīrtha, praised as the best among tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pāṭha and śravaṇa: reading and listening to the tīrtha narrative as a devotional discipline.