Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

त्रैलोक्यपावनी गंगा तव पादजलं हि तत् । लक्ष्मीर्वक्षःस्थलस्थाने मुखे देवी सरस्वती

Transliteration

trailokyapāvanī gaṃgā tava pādajalaṃ hi tat | lakṣmīrvakṣaḥsthalasthāne mukhe devī sarasvatī

Translation

ത്രിലോകത്തെ പവിത്രമാക്കുന്ന ഗംഗ നിന്റെ പാദപ്രക്ഷാലനജലമേ; നിന്റെ വക്ഷസ്ഥലത്തിൽ ലക്ഷ്മീ വിരാജിക്കുന്നു, നിന്റെ മുഖത്തിൽ ദേവി സരസ്വതി (ദിവ്യവാണി) വസിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• त्रैलोक्यपावनी: purifier of the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्यपावनी: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रैलोक्य-पावनी (प्रातिपदिक; त्रैलोक्य + पावनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (fem. nom. sg.)

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तव: your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (gen. sg. of 'you')

• पादजलम्: water from (your) feet
• पादजलम्: Pradhāna (Predicate nominative/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद-जल (प्रातिपदिक; पाद + जल)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अव्यय; हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ-प्रयोग

• तत्: that
• तत्: Pradhāna (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• लक्ष्मीः: Lakṣmī
• लक्ष्मीः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष्मी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• वक्षःस्थलस्थाने: in the place of the chest
• वक्षःस्थलस्थाने: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वक्षःस्थल-स्थान (प्रातिपदिक; वक्षःस्थल + स्थान)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• मुखे: in the mouth/face
• मुखे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī
• सरस्वती: Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Gopikās addressing Śrī Kṛṣṇa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇu-pāda-tīrtha (conceptual source of Gaṅgā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic iconography: from Viṣṇu’s feet flows Gaṅgā as a radiant stream; Lakṣmī sits upon His chest (vakṣaḥsthala); Sarasvatī appears as luminous speech at His face/mouth, perhaps as a white goddess-form emerging as vāṇī.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Śrī Kṛṣṇa
• Lakṣmī
• Sarasvatī
• Tribhuvana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred rivers and divine powers originate in the Lord; devotion sees all sanctity as rooted in the Divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā’s Vaiṣṇava sacred geography is being praised, while also linking it to the pan-Indian sanctity of Gaṅgā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it supplies a theological basis for revering tīrtha-waters (especially Gaṅgā and Lord-connected waters).