Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्नृपश्रेष्ठ तीर्थं त्रैलोक्यविश्रुतम् । अंबरीषस्य राजर्षेरैशान्यां पापनाशनम्

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca | tato gacchennṛpaśreṣṭha tīrthaṃ trailokyaviśrutam | aṃbarīṣasya rājarṣeraiśānyāṃ pāpanāśanam

Translation

പുലസ്ത്യൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ നൃപശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! തുടർന്ന് ത്രിലോകത്തിലും പ്രസിദ്ധമായ, രാജർഷി അംബരീഷന്റെ, ഈശാന ദിക്കിൽ സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്ന പാപനാശകമായ തീർത്ഥത്തിലേക്ക് പോകണം.

Word by Word

• pulastyaḥ: Pulastya
• pulastyaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Masculine, Nom., Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (Perfect, 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada)

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequencer/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय; tad-ablatival)
• Form: क्रम/हेत्वर्थक-अव्यय (adverb: then/thereafter)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Injunctive action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (Optative, 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada)

• nṛpaśreṣṭha: O best of kings
• nṛpaśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular)

• tīrtham: to a sacred ford (tīrtha)
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• trailokya-viśrutam: renowned in the three worlds
• trailokya-viśrutam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + viśruta (कृदन्त; vi-√śru (धातु))
• Form: भूतकृदन्ताधारित-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Acc., Singular); 'tīrtham' इति विशेषण

• aṃbarīṣasya: of Ambarīṣa
• aṃbarīṣasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṃbarīṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (Masculine, Genitive, Singular)

• rājarṣeḥ: of the royal sage
• rājarṣeḥ: Sambandha (Genitive apposition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (Masculine, Genitive, Singular)

• aiśānyām: in the north-east (direction)
• aiśānyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aiśānī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Feminine, Locative, Singular); दिक्-विशेषण (directional)

• pāpa-nāśanam: destroying sins
• pāpa-nāśanam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Acc., Singular); 'tīrtham' इति विशेषण

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ambārīṣa-tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpaśreṣṭha (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pulastya, radiant and composed, instructs a king on the next stop: a famed tīrtha in the north-east, marked by a small shrine and sacred water, with a sign of Ambārīṣa’s legacy (a royal emblem or ascetic staff).

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Ambārīṣa
• Tīrtha
• Aiśānya (north-east)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Seeking holy places with humility and purpose is a dharmic act; tīrthas are praised as instruments of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ambārīṣa’s tīrtha, renowned across the three worlds, situated in the north-eastern quarter within the Arbuda-khaṇḍa itinerary.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pilgrimage injunction: “one should go” (gacchet) to the Ambārīṣa tīrtha for sin-removal.