Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

गौतमस्याऽभितो दृष्ट्वा त्रैलोक्यसंभवानि वै । तीर्थानि सरितः सर्वा विस्मयं परमं गतः

Transliteration

gautamasyā'bhito dṛṣṭvā trailokyasaṃbhavāni vai | tīrthāni saritaḥ sarvā vismayaṃ paramaṃ gataḥ

Translation

ഗൗതമന്റെ ചുറ്റും ത്രിലോകസംബവമെന്ന് പറയപ്പെടുന്ന തീർത്ഥങ്ങളും എല്ലാ നദികളും കണ്ടപ്പോൾ, അദ്ദേഹം പരമ വിസ്മയത്തിലായി.

Word by Word

• गौतमस्य: of Gautama
• गौतमस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौतम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• अभितः: around, on all sides
• अभितः: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अभितः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्गार्थक/क्रियाविशेषण (around, on all sides)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• त्रैलोक्य-सम्भवानि: arising from the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्य-सम्भवानि: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रैलोक्य (प्रातिपदिक) + सम्भव (सम्+भू धातु, भाव/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: त्रैलोक्य-सम्भव (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष: ‘सम्भवः त्रैलोक्यस्य’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; विशेषण (तीर्थानि)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• तीर्थानि: holy places, pilgrim fords
• तीर्थानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन

• सरितः: rivers
• सरितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन (सरितः = सरितः/सरितः); ‘rivers’

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; विशेषण (सरितः)

• विस्मयम्: astonishment
• विस्मयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विस्मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• परमम्: supreme, great
• परमम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण (विस्मयम्)

• गतः: attained, came to
• गतः: Kriya (Main predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘(he) having gone/attained’ (finite sense)

Speaker

Prahlāda (continuing the itihāsa narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gautama-āśrama tīrtha-maṇḍala (Godāvarī region)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/assembly (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nārada stands astonished near Gautama’s āśrama: around them, many rivers and tīrtha-symbols appear as if converging from heaven, earth, and netherworld; the scene is expansive and visionary, emphasizing ‘triloka-sambhava’ waters.

Characters & Entities

• Gautama
• Nārada
• Trailokya (three worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The holiness of a sage’s sphere is portrayed as cosmically connected—tīrthas and rivers converge where dharma and tapas are concentrated.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The region around Gautama (associated with the Godāvarī milieu) is depicted as a convergence-point of multi-world tīrthas and rivers.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse primarily establishes the extraordinary tīrtha-status of the locale through narrative description.