Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

स्वच्छंदा भारती देवी जिह्वाग्रे ते भविष्यति । कृत्वा रामायणं काव्यं ततो मोक्षं गमिष्यसि

Transliteration

svacchaṃdā bhāratī devī jihvāgre te bhaviṣyati | kṛtvā rāmāyaṇaṃ kāvyaṃ tato mokṣaṃ gamiṣyasi

Translation

സ്വച്ഛന്ദയായി വിഹരിക്കുന്ന ഭാരതി ദേവി (സരസ്വതി) നിന്റെ നാവിന്റെ അഗ്രത്തിൽ വസിക്കും. രാമായണ മഹാകാവ്യം രചിച്ച ശേഷം നീ മോക്ഷം പ്രാപിക്കും.

Word by Word

• स्वच्छन्दा: free, spontaneous
• स्वच्छन्दा: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वच्छन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भारती: Bhāratī (goddess of speech)
• भारती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• देवी: goddess
• देवी: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• जिह्वाग्रे: on the tip of the tongue
• जिह्वाग्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जिह्वा (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जिह्वायाः अग्रे)

• ते: of you, your
• ते: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन (enclitic genitive)

• भविष्यति: will be
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कृत्वा: having composed/made
• कृत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कृत्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्ययभाव (gerund/क्त्वान्त), ‘having done/made’

• रामायणम्: the Rāmāyaṇa
• रामायणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रामायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• काव्यम्: poem, epic
• काव्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; appositional to रामायणम्

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/अनन्तर-अव्यय (adverb: ‘then/thereafter’)

• मोक्षम्: liberation
• मोक्षम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• गमिष्यसि: you will go/attain
• गमिष्यसि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple future), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Ṛṣayaḥ (the sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The sādhaka (future Vālmīki) and attending sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sarasvatī (Bhāratī) appears as a luminous presence at the ascetic’s tongue-tip—symbolically as a radiant syllable/lotus—while sages foretell the composition of the Rāmāyaṇa and final liberation.

Characters & Entities

• Bhāratī (Sarasvatī)
• Vālmīki
• Rāmāyaṇa
• Mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace empowers dharmic speech and sacred composition, and such God-aligned work can culminate in mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to Prabhāsa-kṣetra māhātmya; this verse highlights the boon to Vālmīki rather than a distinct tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the verse foretells a divine boon (vāg-devatā’s presence) and the composition of a dharmic kāvya.