Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्नृपश्रेष्ठ तीर्थं पापप्रणाशनम् । मामुह्रदमिति ख्यातं तस्मिन्पर्वतरोधसि

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca | tato gacchennṛpaśreṣṭha tīrthaṃ pāpapraṇāśanam | māmuhradamiti khyātaṃ tasminparvatarodhasi

Translation

പുലസ്ത്യൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ നൃപശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! തുടർന്ന് പാപനാശകമായ, പർവ്വതാവരണത്തിനിടയിൽ സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്ന ‘മാമുഹൃദ’ എന്ന പ്രസിദ്ധ തീർത്ഥത്തിലേക്ക് പോകണം.

Word by Word

• pulastyaḥ: Pulastya
• pulastyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धा॒तु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम् (Perfect, 3rd person singular, parasmaipada)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; क्रम/हेतुवाचक-अव्ययम् (indeclinable: then/thereafter)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (गम् धा॒तु)
• Form: लोट्-लकारः (आज्ञार्थ/विधिलिङ्ग-सदृश), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्; विध्यर्थः (Imperative/optative-like injunction, 3rd person singular)

• nṛpaśreṣṭha: O best of kings
• nṛpaśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—नृपश्रेष्ठ (best of kings) (Masculine, Vocative, Singular; karmadhāraya)

• tīrtham: to a sacred ford/place
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• pāpapraṇāśanam: sin-destroying
• pāpapraṇāśanam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa + praṇāśana (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—पापप्रणाशन (destroyer of sins); विशेषणम् (Neuter, Accusative, Singular; tatpuruṣa adjective qualifying tīrtham)

• māmuhradam: Māmuhrada (the lake)
• māmuhradam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māmu + hrada (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—मामु-ह्रद (name of a lake) (Masculine, Accusative, Singular; tatpuruṣa/proper-name compound)

• iti: thus/called
• iti: Quotation marker (Avyaya)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; इत्यादि-उद्धरणसूचकः (quotative particle)

• khyātam: known as
• khyātam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: khyā (ख्या धा॒तु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त-भूतकर्मणि-विशेषणम् (Neuter, Nom./Acc. Singular; past passive participle: 'known')

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (Locative Singular; pronoun)

• parvatarodhasi: on the mountain slope/bank
• parvatarodhasi: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvata + rodhas (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—पर्वतरोधस् (mountain-bank/side) (Neuter, Locative, Singular; tatpuruṣa)

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Māmuhṛda

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpaśreṣṭha (best of kings; royal interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pulastya, the sage-narrator, points out a secluded mountain-encircled sacred lake named Māmuhṛda to a king, indicating the next step of the pilgrimage route.

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Māmuhṛda Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is framed as a dharmic journey: moving from tīrtha to tīrtha is itself a path of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Māmuhṛda (Māmuhrada) Tīrtha, described as a pāpa-praṇāśana (destroyer of sins).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An instruction to proceed (gacchet) to the tīrtha as part of the prescribed pilgrimage route.