Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

उत्तरां दिशमासाद्य हिमवत्पर्वतेऽमले । कौशिक्यास्सरितस्तीरे पुण्ये पापविनाशिनि

Transliteration

uttarāṃ diśamāsādya himavatparvate'male | kauśikyāssaritastīre puṇye pāpavināśini

Translation

ഉത്തരദിശയിൽ എത്തി, നിർമല ഹിമവത് പർവതത്തിൽ, പുണ്യദായിനിയും പാപനാശിനിയുമായ കൗശികീ നദീതീരത്ത് അവൻ വസിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• उत्तराम्: northern
• उत्तराम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (diśam इति विशेष्यस्य)

• दिशम्: direction
• दिशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• आसाद्य: having reached
• आसाद्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ√सद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वक्रिया; ‘having reached/approached’

• हिमवत्पर्वते: on the Himavat mountain
• हिमवत्पर्वते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिमवत् (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (हिमवतः पर्वतः)

• अमले: pure, spotless
• अमले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (पर्वते)

• कौशिक्याः: of (the river) Kauśikī
• कौशिक्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौशिकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• सरितः: of the river
• सरितः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (तीरे इति विशेष्यस्य)

• तीरे: on the bank
• तीरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• पुण्ये: holy
• पुण्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (तीरे)

• पापविनाशिनि: destroying sin
• पापविनाशिनि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + विनाशिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (पापस्य विनाशिनी); विशेषणम् (तीरे/कौशिक्यां)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kauśikī-tīra (bank of the Kauśikī)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lone ascetic arrives in the northern quarter and sits on a pristine Himalayan riverbank; snow-peaks gleam, the Kauśikī flows clear, and the atmosphere is charged with sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Himavat (Himālaya)
• Kauśikī River
• Kauśika (Viśvāmitra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Choosing a pure sacred landscape supports tapas, and holy rivers are praised as destroyers of sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kauśikī riverbank in the Himālaya is explicitly praised as puṇya and pāpa-vināśinī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse implies the merit of residing/performing tapas near a holy river.