Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि भागीरथ्यवगाहने । सकृद्गोदावरीस्नानात्सिंहस्थे च बृहस्पतौ

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭivarṣasahasrāṇi bhāgīrathyavagāhane | sakṛdgodāvarīsnānātsiṃhasthe ca bṛhaspatau

Translation

ഭാഗീരഥിയിൽ അറുപതിനായിരം വർഷം അവഗാഹനം ചെയ്ത ഫലം എത്രയോ, സിംഹസ്ഥത്തിൽ ബൃഹസ്പതി നിലകൊള്ളുന്ന കാലത്ത് ഗോദാവരിയിൽ ഒരിക്കൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്താൽ അതേ പുണ്യമെന്ന് പ്രസിദ്ധമാണ്.

Word by Word

• षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि: thousands of sixty-year (periods); many thousands of years
• षष्टिवर्षसहस्राणि: Kriyā-viṣaya (predicate/measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्टि (संख्या) + वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; समासः (षष्टिः वर्षाणि = 60 years; तेषां सहस्राणि = thousands of such)

• भागीरथ्यवगाहने: in the act of bathing/immersing in the Bhāgīrathī (Gaṅgā)
• भागीरथ्यवगाहने: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भागीरथी (प्रातिपदिक) + अवगाहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (भागीरथ्यां अवगाहनम् = immersion in the Bhāgīrathī/Gaṅgā)

• सकृत्: once
• सकृत्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सकृत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; संख्यावाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (once)

• गोदावरीस्नानात्: from (the merit of) bathing in the Godāvarī
• गोदावरीस्नानात्: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोदावरी (प्रातिपदिक) + स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (गोदावर्यां स्नानम्); हेत्वर्थे (ablative of cause: “from/by”)

• सिंहस्थे: when (Jupiter) is in Leo
• सिंहस्थे: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंहस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सिंहे स्थितः)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• बृहस्पतौ: in/at Jupiter (i.e., when Jupiter is positioned)
• बृहस्पतौ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बृहस्पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन

Speaker

Pulastya (deduced from immediate next adhyāya opening; continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Godāvarī (Gautamī) — Siṃhastha snāna

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic juxtaposition: on one side, the Gaṅgā with timeless ascetics; on the other, the Godāvarī at Siṃhastha crowded with pilgrims—one dip in the festival river radiates a luminous aura outweighing ages of immersion.

Characters & Entities

• Bhāgīrathī (Gaṅgā)
• Godāvarī
• Bṛhaspati (Jupiter)
• Siṃha (Leo)
• Simhastha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a single act of tīrtha-snāna, done at an auspicious cosmic conjunction, can equal vast accumulations of ordinary merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Godāvarī river, particularly during Simhastha (Jupiter in Leo).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform one holy bath (snāna) in the Godāvarī during Simhastha for extraordinary merit.