Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

गोमतीस्नानमात्रेण मानवो नात्र संशयः । सर्वपापविनिर्मुक्तो याति विष्णुं सनातनम्

Transliteration

gomatīsnānamātreṇa mānavo nātra saṃśayaḥ | sarvapāpavinirmukto yāti viṣṇuṃ sanātanam

Translation

ഗോമതിയിൽ സ്നാനമാത്രം ചെയ്താൽ—ഇതിൽ സംശയമില്ല—മനുഷ്യൻ സർവ്വപാപങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നു വിമുക്തനായി സനാതന വിഷ്ണുവിനെ പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• gomatī-snāna-mātreṇa: by merely bathing in the Gomati
• gomatī-snāna-mātreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gomatī (प्रातिपदिक) + snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन — Neuter, Instrumental, Singular; तत्पुरुष (गोमती-स्नानस्य मात्रेण = केवलस्नानेन)

• mānavaḥ: a man/human
• mānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-निपात (negation particle)

• atra: here/in this matter
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• saṃśayaḥ: doubt
• saṃśayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• sarva-pāpa-vinirmuktaḥ: freed from all sins
• sarva-pāpa-vinirmuktaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + vi-nis-√muc (धातु) + vinirmukta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Singular; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘विनिर्मुक्त’; तत्पुरुष (सर्वपापेभ्यः विनिर्मुक्तः)

• yāti: goes/attains
• yāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Present, 3rd person, Singular

• viṣṇum: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• sanātanam: eternal
• sanātanam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sanātana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

Śrī Prahlāda (contextual attribution: Dvārakā Māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gomātī (Dvārakā)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims at dawn bathe at the Gomātī ghāṭa near Dvārakā, offering arghya; the river meets the sea, and Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa is envisioned as the inner goal of the rite.

Characters & Entities

• Gomātī
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faithful contact with a sanctified river is taught as a direct means to purification and God-attainment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gomātī river at Dvārakā (Gomātī-snānā) is explicitly praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Gomātī-snāna (ritual bathing in the Gomātī).