Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

यमुनातीर्थमिति वै तज्जनैरभिधीयते । यतो वै पृथिवीरंध्राज्जाह्नवी सहसोत्थिता

Transliteration

yamunātīrthamiti vai tajjanairabhidhīyate | yato vai pṛthivīraṃdhrājjāhnavī sahasotthitā

Translation

ആ സ്ഥലത്തെ ജനങ്ങൾ നിശ്ചയമായി ‘യമുനാതീർത്ഥം’ എന്നു വിളിക്കുന്നു. പിന്നെ ഭൂമിയിലെ പിളർച്ചയിൽ നിന്ന് ജാഹ്നവി (ഗംഗ) പെട്ടെന്ന് ഉയർന്നിടത്ത്…

Word by Word

• यमुनातीर्थम्: Yamunā-tīrtha
• यमुनातीर्थम्: Karman/Pratipādya (Name as object of ‘called’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यमुना (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc., 1st/2nd), एकवचन (singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (यमुनायाः तीर्थम् = ‘Yamunā’s ford/holy place’)

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरणसूचक

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक/खल्वर्थ (emphatic particle)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc., 1st/2nd), एकवचन (singular); सर्वनाम

• जनैः: by people
• जनैः: Karta (Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), तृतीया (Instrumental, 3rd), बहुवचन (plural)

• अभिधीयते: is called/denoted
• अभिधीयते: Kriyā (Verb/Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-धा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive), आत्मनेपद; उपसर्ग: अभि-

• यतः: from where; because
• यतः: Apādāna/Hetu (Source/Cause)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थक/अपादानार्थक (relative adverb: from which/wherefrom; because)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक

• पृथिवीरन्ध्रात्: from the earth’s fissure
• पृथिवीरन्ध्रात्: Apādāna (Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक) + रन्ध्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), पञ्चमी (Ablative, 5th), एकवचन (singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पृथिव्याः रन्ध्रम् = ‘hole of the earth’)

• जाह्नवी: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• जाह्नवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाह्नवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (singular)

• सहसा: suddenly
• सहसा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहसा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण

• उत्थिता: arose; sprang up
• उत्थिता: Kriyā (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत्-स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (singular); उपसर्ग: उत्-

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Yamunā-tīrtha; (prelude to) Gaṅgā/Jāhnavī emergence tīrtha

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two sacred spots: one labeled Yamunā-tīrtha; another where Jāhnavī surges upward from a crack in the earth, her waters shimmering like liquid light.

Characters & Entities

• Yamunā
• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred sites are authenticated by divine manifestation and preserved through communal naming and tradition.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Yamunā-tīrtha is explicitly named; Gaṅgā’s emergence-point is introduced next.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse establishes tīrtha identity, implying pilgrimage and snāna at Yamunā-tīrtha.