Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 198

Devanagari script

तस्मात्सर्वप्रयत्नेन यात्रां तत्र समाचरेत् । अर्बुदे पर्वतश्रेष्ठे सर्वतीर्थमये शुभे

Transliteration

tasmātsarvaprayatnena yātrāṃ tatra samācaret | arbude parvataśreṣṭhe sarvatīrthamaye śubhe

Translation

അതുകൊണ്ട് സർവ്വശ്രമത്തോടും കൂടി അവിടേക്ക് യാത്ര ചെയ്യണം—ശുഭവും സർവ്വതീർത്ഥമയവും ആയ പർവ്വതശ്രേഷ്ഠൻ അർബുദത്തിലേക്ക്.

Word by Word

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात् इति निपातवत् (ablative used adverbially: ‘therefore/from that’)

• sarva-prayatnena: with all effort
• sarva-prayatnena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; समासः—सर्वः प्रयत्नः यस्य/येन (all effort)

• yātrām: pilgrimage
• yātrām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• samācaret: should perform/practise
• samācaret: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√car (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• arbude: on/at Arbuda (mountain)
• arbude: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arbuda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• parvata-śreṣṭhe: on the best of mountains
• parvata-śreṣṭhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvata (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—पर्वतानां श्रेष्ठः (best among mountains)

• sarva-tīrtha-maye: in the one consisting of all sacred fords
• sarva-tīrtha-maye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘सर्वतीर्थमय’ = made of/consisting of all tīrthas

• śubhe: auspicious
• śubhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; agrees with arbude/parvataśreṣṭhe

Speaker

Pulastya (deduced from immediate continuation in Adhyāya 37)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda (sarva-tīrtha-maya parvata)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārthiva (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grand panoramic of Mount Arbuda as an auspicious ‘all-tīrtha’ mountain: multiple shrines, hermitages, sacred pools, and pilgrims ascending with determination.

Characters & Entities

• Arbuda
• Parvataśreṣṭha
• Sarvatīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A truly exalted kṣetra concentrates the merit of many holy places; earnest effort toward pilgrimage is itself dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Arbuda (Arbudaparvata), praised as ‘sarva-tīrtha-maya’—equivalent in sanctity to all tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is to perform yātrā (pilgrimage) to Arbuda with full commitment.