Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

शेषकायप्रपातेन महीसागरसंगमे । तत्तीर्थस्य प्रभावेन बर्करीसा कुरूद्वह

Transliteration

śeṣakāyaprapātena mahīsāgarasaṃgame | tattīrthasya prabhāvena barkarīsā kurūdvaha

Translation

അവളുടെ ശേഷദേഹം മഹീ–സമുദ്ര സംഗമത്തിൽ വീണപ്പോൾ, ആ തീർത്ഥത്തിന്റെ പ്രഭാവത്താൽ, ഹേ കുരുശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, അവൾ ബർക്കരീസയായി മാറി.

Word by Word

• śeṣakāyaprapātena: by the fall of the remaining body
• śeṣakāyaprapātena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śeṣakāyaprapāta (प्रातिपदिक) = śeṣa + kāya + prapāta
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (singular); समासः तत्पुरुषः (śeṣasya kāyasya prapātaḥ)

• mahīsāgarasaṃgame: at the confluence of earth and ocean
• mahīsāgarasaṃgame: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahīsāgarasaṃgama (प्रातिपदिक) = mahī + sāgara + saṃgama
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (singular)

• tat: that
• tat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (singular); सर्वनाम; (tattīrthasya इत्यत्र तत्-शब्दः)

• tīrthasya: of the sacred ford/place
• tīrthasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (singular)

• prabhāvena: by the power/effect
• prabhāvena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (singular)

• barkarīsā: Barkarīsā
• barkarīsā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: barkarīsā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (singular); व्यक्तिनाम (proper name)

• kurūdvaha: O best of the Kurus
• kurūdvaha: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kurūdvaha (प्रातिपदिक) = kuru + udvaha
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन (singular); समासः तत्पुरुषः (kurūṇām udvahaḥ)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced); internal address: ‘kurūdvaha’ (to a Kuru-descendant listener within the frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahī–Sāgara Saṅgama (Śanidarśa)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages; internal address to a Kuru descendant (as literary device)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the confluence, as the body falls into the waters, a luminous ripple spreads; from the tīrtha’s power arises a new being/persona named Barkarīsā—suggested by a subtle goat-associated facial motif or emblem, while the scene remains devotional rather than grotesque.

Characters & Entities

• Mahī
• Sāgara
• Barkarīsā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha is presented as an active spiritual force—able to transform destiny and condition through its sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mahī–Sāgara-saṅgama (the confluence of the Mahī River and the ocean).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse emphasizes the inherent ‘prabhāva’ (efficacy) of the confluence tīrtha.