Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

त्यक्त्वा राज्यं स तत्रैव तपस्तेपे महीपतिः । ततः सिद्धिं परां प्राप्तस्तीर्थस्यास्य प्रभावतः

Transliteration

tyaktvā rājyaṃ sa tatraiva tapastepe mahīpatiḥ | tataḥ siddhiṃ parāṃ prāptastīrthasyāsya prabhāvataḥ

Translation

ആ മഹീപതി രാജ്യം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് അവിടെയേ തന്നെ കഠിന തപസ്സു ചെയ്തു. ഈ തീർത്ഥത്തിന്റെ പ്രഭാവത്താൽ അവൻ പരമസിദ്ധിയും ഉത്തമഗതിയും പ്രാപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• tyaktvā: having abandoned
• tyaktvā: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tyaj (त्यज्) (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund): having abandoned

• rājyam: kingdom
• rājyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (locative adverb): there

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/emphasis): indeed/just

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• tepe: practised (austerity)
• tepe: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tap (तप्) (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd person singular)

• mahīpatiḥ: lord of the earth (king)
• mahīpatiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक) + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मह्याः पतिः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• tataḥ: thereupon/from that
• tataḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): then/from that

• siddhim: attainment, success
• siddhim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: siddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Feminine, Accusative, Singular)

• parām: supreme
• parām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (Feminine, Accusative, Singular)

• prāptaḥ: having obtained
• prāptaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra√āp (धातु) + kta (क्त) → prāpta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृविशेषण (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• tīrthasya: of the holy place
• tīrthasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन (Neuter, Genitive, Singular)

• asya: of this
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचन (Genitive, Singular)

• prabhāvataḥ: due to the power
• prabhāvataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (हेतु/अपादान), एकवचन (Masculine, Ablative, Singular): because of/by the power

Speaker

Pulastya (deduced from immediate section context; Adhyāya 24 explicitly begins with Pulastya speaking)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (nṛpaśreṣṭha)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A crowned king lays aside royal insignia near a luminous white-water tīrtha; he sits in austere meditation under sparse forest shade, radiance rising as ‘siddhi’ dawns.

Characters & Entities

• King
• Śuklatīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s greatness is fulfilled when it awakens vairāgya—leading from worldly power to tapas and siddhi.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śuklatīrtha, whose prabhāva (spiritual potency) is said to grant supreme siddhi.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) undertaken at the tīrtha after proper snāna; renunciation is presented as the king’s chosen discipline.