Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

तीर्थोपवासः कर्त्तव्यो यथावद्वै निबोध मे । नास्ति गंगासमं तीर्थं नास्ति क्रतुसमा गतिः

Transliteration

tīrthopavāsaḥ karttavyo yathāvadvai nibodha me | nāsti gaṃgāsamaṃ tīrthaṃ nāsti kratusamā gatiḥ

Translation

തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ ഉപവാസം യഥാവിധി എങ്ങനെ ആചരിക്കണമെന്നു എന്നിൽ നിന്നു കേൾക്കുക. ഗംഗയ്ക്കു തുല്യമായ തീർത്ഥമില്ല; ക്രതു-യാഗം നൽകുന്ന ഗതിക്കു തുല്യമായ ഗതിയുമില്ല.

Word by Word

• tīrtha-upavāsaḥ: fasting at a pilgrimage place
• tīrtha-upavāsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + upavāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (tīrthe upavāsaḥ = fasting at a sacred place); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kartavyaḥ: to be done, should be performed
• kartavyaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate obligation/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) → kartavya (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्यय (gerundive/obligatory); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; predicate with implied ‘is to be done’

• yathāvat: properly
• yathāvat: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; adverb ‘properly, duly’

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; particle (emphasis)

• nibodha: understand, learn
• nibodha: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-budh (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• me: from me, my
• me: Apādāna/Source (from me)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचन (enclitic); here sense: ‘from me / my’ (speaker reference)

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

• asti: is, exists
• asti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• gaṃgā-samam: equal to the Gaṅgā
• gaṃgā-samam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gaṃgā (प्रातिपदिक) + sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (gaṃgāyāḥ samam = equal to Gaṅgā); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; qualifying 'tīrtham'

• tīrtham: sacred ford, pilgrimage place
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• asti: is, exists
• asti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• kratu-samā: equal to a sacrifice (rite)
• kratu-samā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kratu (प्रातिपदिक) + samā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (kratunā samā = equal to a sacrifice); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; qualifying 'gatiḥ'

• gatiḥ: attainment, course, goal
• gatiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (didactic voice within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī addressed as 'Deveśi' (Lady of the Lord) in the immediate context of this teaching sequence

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic scene in Prabhāsa: a revered speaker instructs a devī-like listener on proper tīrtha-fasting; in the background, a sacred shoreline/ford with pilgrims, and a symbolic vignette of Gaṅgā and a Vedic yajña-fire indicating the verse’s comparisons.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Tīrtha
• Kratu (Vedic sacrifice)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Proper fasting at sacred places is a core Purāṇic discipline, and traditional benchmarks of merit include the Gaṅgā and Vedic sacrifice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā is named as the unsurpassed tīrtha, within a broader instruction on tīrtha-observances.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tīrthopavāsa—fasting/abstinence undertaken at a holy site, performed ‘yathāvat’ (according to proper rule).