Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

एवंविधानि तीर्थानि महीसागरसंगमे । बहूनि संति पुण्यानि संक्षेपाद्वर्णितानि मे

Transliteration

evaṃvidhāni tīrthāni mahīsāgarasaṃgame | bahūni saṃti puṇyāni saṃkṣepādvarṇitāni me

Translation

ഭൂമിയും സമുദ്രവും സംഗമിക്കുന്ന സ്ഥലത്ത് ഇത്തരത്തിലുള്ള അനേകം തീർത്ഥങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ട്; അവ മഹാപുണ്യപ്രദങ്ങൾ. ഞാൻ അവയെ സംക്ഷേപമായി മാത്രം വർണ്ണിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• एवंविधानि: of such a kind
• एवंविधानि: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एवंविध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (neuter, nominative/accusative plural, adjective)

• तीर्थानि: sacred places (tīrthas)
• तीर्थानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन (neuter, nominative plural)

• महीसागर-संगमे: at the confluence of land and ocean
• महीसागर-संगमे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक) + सागर (प्रातिपदिक) + संगम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘महीसागरयोः संगमः’ (masculine, locative singular; genitive-tatpurusha)

• बहूनि: many
• बहूनि: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (neuter, nominative plural, adjective)

• सन्ति: are / exist
• सन्ति: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन (present indicative, 3rd person plural)

• पुण्यानि: meritorious, holy
• पुण्यानि: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (neuter, nominative plural, adjective)

• संक्षेपात्: briefly / in summary
• संक्षेपात्: Hetu/Prakāra (Cause/Means/हेतु/प्रकार)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संक्षेप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे ‘संक्षेपात्’ = संक्षेपेण (masculine, ablative singular; used adverbially)

• वर्णितानि: described
• वर्णितानि: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया-भाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वर्णय् (धातु) → वर्णित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे विधेय-विशेषणम् (PPP; neuter nominative plural; predicative)

• मे: by me / of me
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (genitive singular pronoun)

Speaker

Narratorial voice within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa (traditionally Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa conveying the Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: महीसागरसंगम-तीर्थसमूह (Stambhatīrtha/Somanātha coastal cluster)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Arjuna (Phālguna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A narrator-sage gestures toward a vast shoreline where the earth meets the ocean; multiple small shrines/lingas and bathing-ghats dot the coast, suggesting countless tīrthas beyond the frame.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrthas (sacred sites)
• Mahī-sāgara-saṅgama (land–ocean confluence)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is framed as sacred geography: many coastal tīrthas collectively generate puṇya, even when only summarized.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a single site—this verse praises the broader cluster of tīrthas at the land–ocean meeting point in the Somanātha/Stambhatīrtha region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; it functions as a concluding note affirming the abundance of merit-giving tīrthas.