Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

यत्र विष्णुपदी गंगा जंतूनां पापनाशिनी । स्वयं स्थिता नृपश्रेष्ठ तथा देवा हरादयः

Transliteration

yatra viṣṇupadī gaṃgā jaṃtūnāṃ pāpanāśinī | svayaṃ sthitā nṛpaśreṣṭha tathā devā harādayaḥ

Translation

ഹേ നൃപശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! അവിടെ വിഷ്ണുപദീ ഗംഗ സ്വയം നിലകൊണ്ട് ജീവികളുടെ പാപങ്ങൾ നശിപ്പിക്കുന്നു; കൂടാതെ ഹരൻ (ശിവൻ) മുതലായ ദേവന്മാരും അവിടെ വസിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• viṣṇu-padī: Viṣṇupadī (name/epithet)
• viṣṇu-padī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + padī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (viṣṇoḥ padī: ‘connected with Viṣṇu’s foot/step’)

• gaṅgā: the Gaṅgā river
• gaṅgā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• jantūnām: of creatures; of beings
• jantūnām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठī-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• pāpa-nāśinī: destroyer of sins
• pāpa-nāśinī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (pāpān nāśayati iti) विशेषण (gaṅgāyāḥ)

• svayam: by herself; personally
• svayam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: स्वार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic: oneself)

• sthitā: situated; present
• sthitā: Kriya-visheshana/Predicate adjective (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (gaṅgā)

• nṛpa-śreṣṭha: O best of kings
• nṛpa-śreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (nṛpāṇāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ)

• tathā: also; likewise
• tathā: Samuccaya/Upama (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (also; likewise)

• devāḥ: the gods
• devāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• hara-ādayaḥ: (gods) beginning with Hara (Śiva)
• hara-ādayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (haras ādiḥ yeṣām: ‘beginning with Hara’)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā at Camatkārapura

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpaśreṣṭha (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous Gaṅgā stream descends with a celestial aura labeled Viṣṇupadī; on the banks stand Śiva (Hara) with matted locks and other devas, while pilgrims bathe and offer arghya.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Viṣṇu
• Śiva (Hara)
• Devas
• Camatkārapura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supremely holy place is marked by self-manifest sacred waters and divine presence, making it a powerful means of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Camatkārapura-kṣetra, where the Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā is said to be present and the gods reside.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied tīrtha-snāna (bathing) in Gaṅgā for pāpa-kṣaya (destruction of sin), though not explicitly commanded.