Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

चक्रतीर्थसमीपे तु तीर्थमस्तिमहत्तरम् । महापातकसंघाश्च यस्य दर्शनमात्रतः

Transliteration

cakratīrthasamīpe tu tīrthamastimahattaram | mahāpātakasaṃghāśca yasya darśanamātrataḥ

Translation

ചക്രതീർത്ഥത്തിനടുത്ത് അത്യുത്തമമായ ഒരു തീർത്ഥമുണ്ട്; അതിന്റെ ദർശനമാത്രത്താൽ മഹാപാതകസമൂഹങ്ങൾ നശിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• चक्रतीर्थसमीपे: near (the place called) Cakratīrtha
• चक्रतीर्थसमीपे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्रतीर्थ + समीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; चक्रतीर्थस्य समीपे इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (locative: ‘near Cakratīrtha’)

• तु: indeed; but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थे ‘but/indeed’

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; here as object of अस्ति (accusative)

• अस्ति: there is
• अस्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• महत्तरम्: greater; very great
• महत्तरम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्तर (प्रातिपदिक; महत्-तरा)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तुलनात्मक (comparative) विशेषण, तीर्थम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• महापातकसंघाः: clusters of great sins
• महापातकसंघाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महापातक + संघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; महापातकानां संघाः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• यस्य: of which/whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्धे (genitive)

• दर्शनमात्रतः: merely by seeing (it)
• दर्शनमात्रतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दर्शन + मात्र + तस् (प्रातिपदिक + अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘-तः’ तद्धित/अव्ययीभावार्थे (ablatival adverb) = ‘from/merely by’; दर्शनस्य मात्रम् इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः, ततः ‘दर्शनमात्रतः’ = केवलदर्शनात्

Speaker

Vidyādhara-kulādhipa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahattara-tīrtha near Cakratīrtha (name not specified in this verse)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous coastal tīrtha near Cakratīrtha; pilgrims approach the shore as an unseen sanctity radiates, signifying instant pāpa-kṣaya by mere sight.

Characters & Entities

• Cakratīrtha
• Mahattara Tīrtha (unnamed here)
• Mahāpātaka (great sins)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places can purify even grave wrongdoing; darśana itself is depicted as transformative.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A supremely great tīrtha located near Cakratīrtha on the southern ocean shore in Setukhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana (visiting and beholding the tīrtha) is explicitly said to destroy great sins.