Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

कुरुक्षेत्रादितीर्थानि रथगम्यानि यानि तु । तान्येव ब्राह्मणो यायादानदोषो न तेषु वै

Transliteration

kurukṣetrāditīrthāni rathagamyāni yāni tu | tānyeva brāhmaṇo yāyādānadoṣo na teṣu vai

Translation

കുരുക്ഷേത്രാദി രഥഗമ്യമായ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളിലേക്കു ബ്രാഹ്മണൻ പോകട്ടെ; അവിടെ രഥയാത്രയിൽ വാസ്തവത്തിൽ ദോഷമൊന്നുമില്ല.

Word by Word

• kuru-kṣetra-ādi-tīrthāni: pilgrimage-places beginning with Kurukṣetra
• kuru-kṣetra-ādi-tīrthāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuru-kṣetra (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative: ‘kurukṣetra-ādīni tīrthāni’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ratha-gamyāni: reachable by chariot
• ratha-gamyāni: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ratha (प्रातिपदिक) + gamya (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √gam)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (instrumental sense: ‘rathena gamyāni’), कृदन्त (gerundive/तव्यत्-प्रत्ययार्थ ‘to be gone/accessible’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of tīrthāni)

• yāni: which
• yāni: Anvaya (Relative connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural) — सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वर्थक-अव्यय (particle: ‘but/indeed’)

• tāni: those
• tāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• eva: only/indeed
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphasis)

• brāhmaṇaḥ: a Brahmin
• brāhmaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• yāyāt: should go
• yāyāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• āna-doṣaḥ: fault (connected with giving)
• āna-doṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āna (प्रातिपदिक; ‘gift/दान’ अर्थे) + doṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative: ‘dānasya doṣaḥ’/‘fault regarding gifts’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• teṣu: in them
• teṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (context: tīrthāni → Neuter), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

Speaker

Īśvarī (Pārvatī) or a Devī addressed as 'Īśvari' (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kurukṣetra (as archetype)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (implicit continuation of address)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brāhmaṇa pilgrim rides a modest chariot along a dusty sacred road lined with way-shrines, approaching a tīrtha signified by a riverbank and sacrificial altars; the emphasis is on propriety, not luxury.

Characters & Entities

• Kurukṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage should be aligned with dharma; when a tīrtha is traditionally approached by vehicle, using a chariot is not considered blameworthy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kurukṣetra is named as a leading example among recognized pilgrimage-sites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A behavioral prescription: for certain tīrthas, travel by chariot/vehicle is permitted without incurring doṣa.