Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

गयादिपितृतीर्थानि प्रभासाद्यानि यानि च । स्थानानि यानि पुण्यानि ग्रामाश्च निवसंति वै

Transliteration

gayādipitṛtīrthāni prabhāsādyāni yāni ca | sthānāni yāni puṇyāni grāmāśca nivasaṃti vai

Translation

ഗയാദി പിതൃതീർത്ഥങ്ങളും പ്രഭാസാദി പുണ്യക്ഷേത്രങ്ങളും, കൂടാതെ ഉള്ള എല്ലാ പുണ്യസ്ഥാനങ്ങളും പാവനഗ്രാമങ്ങളും—അവയൊക്കെയും നിശ്ചയമായും ഇവിടെ തന്നെയുണ്ട്.

Word by Word

• गयादिपितृतीर्थानि: ancestral pilgrimage-places like Gayā
• गयादिपितृतीर्थानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया+आदि+पितृतीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—(गया+आदि)+पितृतीर्थ (तत्पुरुष)

• प्रभासाद्यानि: Prabhāsa and others
• प्रभासाद्यानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रभास+आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—प्रभास+आदि (तत्पुरुष)

• यानि: which
• यानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• स्थानानि: places
• स्थानानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• यानि: which
• यानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• पुण्यानि: holy, meritorious
• पुण्यानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ग्रामाः: villages
• ग्रामाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• निवसन्ति: reside
• निवसन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि+वस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय/पादपूरण (particle: emphasis)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā (as sarva-tīrtha-sannidhāna)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Daitya interlocutor (addressed as ‘daitya-śārdūla’ in adjacent verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic sacred map-vision: Gayā, Prabhāsa, and innumerable tīrthas and ‘puṇya-grāmas’ symbolically converging into Dvārakā’s sacred precincts, with pilgrims arriving from all directions.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā
• Prabhāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supreme tīrtha is praised as a convergence-point where the merits of many famed sacred sites are accessible.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dvārakā (context) is glorified through comparison with Gayā (Pitṛ-tīrtha) and Prabhāsa (major Prabhāsa-kṣetra tīrtha).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Indirectly supports Pitṛ-rites (tarpaṇa/śrāddha) by mentioning Pitṛ-tīrthas, but no step-by-step ritual is specified.