Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

श्रीमहादेव उवाच । येऽत्र स्नानं करिष्यंति सरस्वत्यां समाहिताः । ते यास्यंति परं स्थानं जरामरणवर्जितम्

Transliteration

śrīmahādeva uvāca | ye'tra snānaṃ kariṣyaṃti sarasvatyāṃ samāhitāḥ | te yāsyaṃti paraṃ sthānaṃ jarāmaraṇavarjitam

Translation

ശ്രീമഹാദേവൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ഇവിടെ സരസ്വതിയിൽ ഏകാഗ്രചിത്തത്തോടെ സ്നാനം ചെയ്യുന്നവർ ജരാമരണവിരഹിതമായ പരമസ്ഥാനത്തെ പ്രാപിക്കും.

Word by Word

• śrīmahādevaḥ: Śrī Mahādeva
• śrīmahādevaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī + mahādeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ye: those who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय

• snānam: bathing
• snānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kariṣyanti: will do, will perform
• kariṣyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future/भविष्यत्), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• sarasvatyām: in Sarasvatī
• sarasvatyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• samāhitāḥ: composed, attentive
• samāhitāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-√dhā (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• yāsyanti: will go
• yāsyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (future), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• param: supreme, highest
• param: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘स्थानम्’)

• sthānam: abode, place
• sthānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• jarāmaraṇavarjitam: free from old age and death
• jarāmaraṇavarjitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jarā + maraṇa + varjita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण; नञ्-रहितार्थ नहीं, अपि तु ‘जरामरणयोः वर्जितम्’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः

Speaker

Śrī Mahādeva (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī-tīrtha (saṅgama-associated)

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājan (King) is addressed in the surrounding narrative frame; within the verse Mahādeva speaks to the interlocutor(s).

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mahādeva appears on the riverbank, ash-smeared, crescent-mooned, with Gaṅgā in his hair; he blesses pilgrims bathing in Sarasvatī, indicating the ‘supreme abode’ with an upward gesture; the atmosphere is still and luminous.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva
• Sarasvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverent bathing at a sacred river-tīrtha, done with mental focus, is praised as a direct means to the highest spiritual state beyond mortality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Sarasvatī-related tīrtha in the Arbuda region, within the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) in the Sarasvatī, performed with samādhāna (composure and attentiveness).