Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

प्राप्य माघमघारिं च प्रयागेश समीपतः । प्रातःप्रयागे संस्नांति सर्वतीर्थानि मामनु

Transliteration

prāpya māghamaghāriṃ ca prayāgeśa samīpataḥ | prātaḥprayāge saṃsnāṃti sarvatīrthāni māmanu

Translation

മാഘം—പാപത്തിന്റെ ശത്രു—വന്നാൽ, പ്രയാഗേശന്റെ സമീപത്ത്, സർവ്വ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളും എന്നെ അനുഗമിച്ച് പ്രഭാതത്തിൽ പ്രയാഗത്തിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്യുന്നു.

Word by Word

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: पूर्वकाल (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• माघम्: Māgha (month)
• माघम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• अघारिम्: Aghāri (sin-destroyer; epithet)
• अघारिम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अघारि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; (उपाधि/विशेषण-नाम)

• च: and
• च: सम्बन्ध (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• प्रयागेश: O Lord of Prayāga
• प्रयागेश: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रयाग (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (प्रयागस्य ईशः)

• समीपतः: from near/nearby
• समीपतः: क्रिया-विशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb)

• प्रातः-प्रयागे: at Prayāga in the morning
• प्रातः-प्रयागे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रातः (अव्यय) + प्रयाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव (प्रातः प्रयागे = morning-Prayāga)

• संस्नान्ति: bathe
• संस्नान्ति: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-स्ना (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• सर्वतीर्थानि: all the tīrthas
• सर्वतीर्थानि: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (सर्वाणि तीर्थानि)

• माम्: me
• माम्: कर्म (Karma/Object; towards me)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अनु: following/after
• अनु: क्रिया-विशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनु (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्गार्थे/क्रियाविशेषण (following/after)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prayāga (near Prayāgeśa)

Type: sangam

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Māgha dawn at Prayāga: near a Śiva shrine (Prayāgeśa), a grand line of personified tīrthas follows the narrator to the confluence to bathe as the sky brightens.

Characters & Entities

• Māgha
• Prayāga
• Prayāgeśa
• Sarva-tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Māgha is portrayed as a sin-destroying sacred season, when Prayāga becomes the focal point of universal tīrtha sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prayāga at dawn during Māgha, especially in the vicinity of Prayāgeśa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dawn bathing (prātaḥ-snāna) at Prayāga during the month of Māgha, near Prayāgeśa.