Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्नृपश्रेष्ठ रूपतीर्थमनुत्तमम् । सर्वपापहरं नॄणां रूपसौभण्यदायकम्

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca | tato gacchennṛpaśreṣṭha rūpatīrthamanuttamam | sarvapāpaharaṃ nṝṇāṃ rūpasaubhaṇyadāyakam

Translation

പുലസ്ത്യൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ നൃപശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! തുടർന്ന് അനുത്തമമായ രൂപതീർത്ഥത്തിലേക്ക് പോകണം; അത് മനുഷ്യരുടെ സർവ്വപാപങ്ങളും ഹരിച്ച് രൂപവും സൗഭാഗ്യപ്രഭയും നൽകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• पुलस्त्यः: Pulastya
• पुलस्त्यः: कर्ता (Speaker)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुलस्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: क्रिया (Said)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (3rd person singular)

• ततः: then
• ततः: सम्बन्ध (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमवाचक (then)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: क्रिया (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (3rd person singular; injunctive sense: 'should go')

• नृपश्रेष्ठ: O best of kings
• नृपश्रेष्ठ: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (श्रेष्ठः नृपः) (Vocative, Singular)

• रूपतीर्थम्: the Rūpa-tīrtha
• रूपतीर्थम्: कर्म (Goal/object of motion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (रूपस्य तीर्थम् / रूप-नामकं तीर्थम्) (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• अनुत्तमम्: unsurpassed; excellent
• अनुत्तमम्: विशेषण (Qualifier of रूपतीर्थम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• सर्वपापहरम्: removing all sins
• सर्वपापहरम्: विशेषण (Qualifier of रूपतीर्थम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सर्वाणि पापानि हरति इति) (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• नॄणाम्: of people
• नॄणाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive: of men)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Masculine, Genitive, Plural)

• रूपसौभण्यदायकम्: bestowing beauty and good fortune
• रूपसौभण्यदायकम्: विशेषण (Qualifier of रूपतीर्थम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक) + सौभण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + दायक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (रूपं सौभण्यं च ददाति इति) (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rūpatīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpaśreṣṭha (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim path leading to Rūpatīrtha—clear waters and a small shrine—where seekers arrive for purification and a luminous, auspicious radiance symbolized as a gentle glow on the face and body.

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Rūpatīrtha
• king (listener)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage to a sanctified tīrtha purifies past wrongdoing and supports auspicious transformation in life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rūpatīrtha, described as anuttama (unsurpassed).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pilgrimage injunction—‘one should go’ to Rūpatīrtha (implying customary snāna and worship at the site).