Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

भ्रांतोऽहं भूतले यानि तीर्थान्यायतनानि च । नचैष मेध्यतां प्राप्तः परिश्रांतोस्मि सांप्रतम्

Transliteration

bhrāṃto'haṃ bhūtale yāni tīrthānyāyatanāni ca | nacaiṣa medhyatāṃ prāptaḥ pariśrāṃtosmi sāṃpratam

Translation

ഭൂമിയിലെ എല്ലാ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളിലേക്കും പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രങ്ങളിലേക്കും ഞാൻ അലഞ്ഞു; എങ്കിലും അവൻ മേധ്യത്വം പ്രാപിച്ചില്ല. ഇപ്പോൾ ഞാൻ അത്യന്തം ക്ഷീണിതനാണ്.

Word by Word

• भ्रान्तः: having wandered, wandering
• भ्रान्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Kridanta
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past active participle/PPP in sense of state), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

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

• भूतले: on the earth, on the ground
• भूतले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• यानि: which (things)
• यानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम

• तीर्थानि: pilgrimage places
• तीर्थानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• आयतनानि: abodes, shrines
• आयतनानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• न: not
• न: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एषः: this (man)
• एषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• मेध्यताम्: purity
• मेध्यताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेध्यता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• प्राप्तः: has attained
• प्राप्तः: Karta (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Kridanta
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past active participle/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• परिश्रान्तः: exhausted
• परिश्रान्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Kridanta
• Root: परि-श्रम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past active participle/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अस्मि: I am
• अस्मि: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• साम्प्रतम्: now, at present
• साम्प्रतम्: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साम्प्रतम् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Viśvāmitra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (unnamed interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A travel-worn Viśvāmitra, dust on garments, staff in hand, stands amid a montage of shrines and river-fords; Triśaṅku remains unchanged, emphasizing the frustration of unfulfilled purification.

Characters & Entities

• Viśvāmitra
• Triśaṅku
• tīrthas
• āyatanas (shrines)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Not all obstacles dissolve through mere travel; the right sacred locus and the right rite, approached with faith, are emphasized in tīrthamāhātmya literature.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse contrasts many tīrthas with the yet-to-be-disclosed extraordinary kṣetra that will accomplish the purification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

General pilgrimage to tīrthas and āyatanas is referenced, but no specific rite is prescribed in this verse.