Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

तथैव पुष्करारण्यं तस्मादमरकण्टकम् । कुरुक्षेत्रं ततो राजन्प्राप्तोऽसौ नृपसत्तमः

Transliteration

tathaiva puṣkarāraṇyaṃ tasmādamarakaṇṭakam | kurukṣetraṃ tato rājanprāpto'sau nṛpasattamaḥ

Translation

അങ്ങനെ തന്നെ അവൻ പുഷ്കരാരണ്യത്തിലേക്കു പോയി; അവിടെ നിന്ന് അമരകണ്ഠകത്തിലേക്കും; പിന്നെ, ഹേ രാജൻ, ആ ശ്രേഷ്ഠ നൃപൻ കുരുക്ഷേത്രത്തെ പ്രാപിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• tathā: thus, likewise
• tathā: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Emphasis (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण-निपात (emphatic/limiting particle)

• puṣkara-araṇyam: the Puṣkara forest
• puṣkara-araṇyam: Karma (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣkara (प्रातिपदिक) + araṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (गन्तव्य-देशः); समासः (तत्पुरुष) — पुष्करस्य अरण्यम्

• tasmāt: from there
• tasmāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; पञ्चमी-अर्थे (ablatival adverb) — ‘from there’

• amara-kaṇṭakam: Amarakaṇṭaka (place)
• amara-kaṇṭakam: Karma (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amara (प्रातिपदिक) + kaṇṭaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (गन्तव्य-देशः); समासः (तत्पुरुष) — अमराणां कण्टकः (स्थाननाम)

• kuru-kṣetram: Kurukṣetra
• kuru-kṣetram: Karma (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuru (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (गन्तव्य-देशः); समासः (तत्पुरुष) — कुरूणां क्षेत्रम्

• tataḥ: then, from there
• tataḥ: Apadana/Sequence (Ablatival adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमसूचक/अपादानार्थक

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• prāptaḥ: arrived, reached
• prāptaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √āp (आप्) (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• asau: that man, he
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• nṛpa-sattamaḥ: the best of kings
• nṛpa-sattamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — नृपाणां सत्तमः (श्रेष्ठः)

Speaker

Deductive: Skanda (narrating within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa’s Arbuda Khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Puṣkarāraṇya / Amarakantaka / Kurukṣetra (sequence)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājan / Nṛpa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A continuous travel tableau: desert-lake serenity of Puṣkara with temples; then forested Maikal hills at Amarakantaka with river sources; then expansive plains of Kurukṣetra with many tīrthas and banners of dharma.

Characters & Entities

• Puṣkara
• Amarakantaka
• Kurukṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage links multiple sacred landscapes into a disciplined path of purification and dharmic renewal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Puṣkara, Amarakantaka, and Kurukṣetra are highlighted as successive stations of merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is the act of tīrtha-yātrā itself; specific rites are not detailed in this verse.