Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

ईर्ष्यामत्सरलौल्यं च यात्रा कार्या ततो नृभिः । तीर्थानुगमनं पुण्यं यज्ञेभ्योऽपि विशिष्यते

Transliteration

īrṣyāmatsaralaulyaṃ ca yātrā kāryā tato nṛbhiḥ | tīrthānugamanaṃ puṇyaṃ yajñebhyo'pi viśiṣyate

Translation

അതുകൊണ്ട് മനുഷ്യർ ഈർഷ്യ, മത്‌സരം, ലൗല്യം (ലോഭം) എന്നിവ ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് തീർത്ഥയാത്ര ചെയ്യണം. തീർത്ഥാനുഗമനമെന്ന പുണ്യം യജ്ഞങ്ങളേക്കാളും ശ്രേഷ്ഠമെന്ന് പറയുന്നു.

Word by Word

• ईर्ष्यामत्सरलौल्यम्: envy, jealousy, and fickleness
• ईर्ष्यामत्सरलौल्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईर्ष्या (प्रातिपदिक) + मत्सर (प्रातिपदिक) + लौल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (समाहार-द्वन्द्व), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Coordination/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• यात्रा: pilgrimage
• यात्रा: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कार्या: to be done/should be undertaken
• कार्या: Vidhi (Obligation/विधि)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) + यत् (कृत्प्रत्यय)
• Form: यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (thereafter)

• नृभिः: by men/people
• नृभिः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• तीर्थानुगमनम्: following/going along the tīrthas
• तीर्थानुगमनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + अनुगमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (तीर्थस्य अनुगमनम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पुण्यम्: meritorious/holy
• पुण्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (of तीर्थानुगमनम्)

• यज्ञेभ्यः: than sacrifices
• यज्ञेभ्यः: Apadana (Standard of comparison/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), बहुवचन

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (also/even)

• विशिष्यते: is superior/excels
• विशिष्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + शिष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present indicative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa Māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa tīrthas (collective)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: General audience ‘nṛbhiḥ’ (people); within the larger dialogue addressed to Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A procession of pilgrims moves from one tīrtha to another, carrying flags and water-pots; above them, a symbolic scale shows tīrtha-yātrā outweighing a yajña altar; jealousy and envy are shown as discarded masks on the roadside.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha
• Yajña

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage becomes truly fruitful when inner vices—jealousy, envy, and greed—are abandoned, and such tīrtha-yātrā is praised as surpassing ritual sacrifice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader context is Prabhāsakṣetra, the sacred region of Prabhāsa associated with Someśvara (Śiva).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A direct prescription to perform tīrtha-yātrā with purified intention, explicitly rejecting jealousy, envy, and greed.