Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

प्रतिष्ठानाभिधानोस्ति देशो गोदावरी तटे । तीर्थप्रतिग्रहरुचिस्तत्रासं ब्राह्मणस्त्वहम्

Transliteration

pratiṣṭhānābhidhānosti deśo godāvarī taṭe | tīrthapratigraharucistatrāsaṃ brāhmaṇastvaham

Translation

ഗോദാവരിയുടെ തീരത്ത് ‘പ്രതിഷ്ഠാന’ എന്നൊരു ദേശമുണ്ട്. അവിടെ ഞാൻ ബ്രാഹ്മണനായി വസിച്ചു; തീർത്ഥകർമ്മബന്ധമായ ദാന-പ്രതിഗ്രഹത്തിൽ ആസക്തനായിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• प्रतिष्ठानाभिधानः: having the name ‘Pratiṣṭhāna’
• प्रतिष्ठानाभिधानः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतिष्ठान (प्रातिपदिक) + अभिधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास ('प्रतिष्ठानम् अभिधानं यस्य' = 'named Pratiṣṭhāna'); पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular) — विशेषण of 'देशः'

• अस्ति: is/exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• देशः: a region
• देशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular)

• गोदावरी: of the Godāvarī (river)
• गोदावरी: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोदावरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन (Singular) — 'of the Godāvarī'

• तटे: on the bank
• तटे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (Singular) — अधिकरण (location)

• तीर्थप्रतिग्रहरुचिः: fond of accepting offerings at tīrthas
• तीर्थप्रतिग्रहरुचिः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रतिग्रह (प्रातिपदिक) + रुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास ('तीर्थ-प्रतिग्रह-रुचि' = 'fond of accepting gifts at pilgrim-places'); पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular) — विशेषण of 'अहम्'

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• आसम्: I was
• आसम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/लङ्), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• ब्राह्मणः: a brāhmaṇa
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular) — विधेय (predicate nominative)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-अव्यय (particle: 'but/indeed')

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

Speaker

Rākṣasa (narrating past life)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Godāvarī-tīra (Pratiṣṭhāna)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A flashback: on the Godāvarī’s bank near Pratiṣṭhāna, a brāhmaṇa engaged in pilgrimage-rite transactions, receiving offerings with visible relish; the river flows as silent witness.

Characters & Entities

• Pratiṣṭhāna
• Godāvarī River
• Brāhmaṇa
• Tīrtha-pratigraha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage-related giving and receiving must be governed by purity; greed around sacred rites becomes a cause of downfall.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pratiṣṭhāna on the Godāvarī riverbank is referenced as the setting of the rākṣasa’s former life.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse references tīrtha-related transactions (pratigraha); it implicitly warns that accepting such gifts improperly is adharma.