Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

तस्यैव पूर्वदिग्भागे कुण्डिका पापनाशिनी । वडवानलसंयुक्ता यत्रायाता सरस्वती

Transliteration

tasyaiva pūrvadigbhāge kuṇḍikā pāpanāśinī | vaḍavānalasaṃyuktā yatrāyātā sarasvatī

Translation

അതേ സ്ഥലത്തിന്റെ കിഴക്കുഭാഗത്ത് ‘കുണ്ഡികാ’ എന്ന പാപനാശിനിയായ പുണ്യതീർത്ഥം ഉണ്ട്. അത് വഡവാനലവുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ടതാണ്; അവിടെയാണു സരസ്വതി ദേവി എത്തിയതെന്ന് ശ്രുതി പറയുന്നു.

Word by Word

• tasya: of that
• tasya: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); एकवचन

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चय/अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• pūrva-dig-bhāge: in the eastern quarter-part
• pūrva-dig-bhāge: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūrva-dik-bhāga (प्रातिपदिक; पूर्व + दिक् + भाग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (Locative); एकवचन

• kuṇḍikā: (the place) Kuṇḍikā
• kuṇḍikā: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (Nominative); एकवचन

• pāpa-nāśinī: sin-destroying
• pāpa-nāśinī: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa-nāśinī (प्रातिपदिक; पाप + नाशिनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (Nominative); एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying kuṇḍikā)

• vaḍavā-anala-saṃyuktā: connected with the submarine fire (Vaḍavānala)
• vaḍavā-anala-saṃyuktā: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaḍavā-anala-saṃyukta (प्रातिपदिक; वडवा + अनल + संयुक्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; विशेषण

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय (relative adverb ‘where’)

• āyātā: came/arrived
• āyātā: Kriya (Predicative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-yā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• sarasvatī: Sarasvatī (river/goddess)
• sarasvatī: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (Nominative); एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara) [continuing narration]

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kuṇḍikā

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī / Pārvatī (implied by later address in 328.3)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A coastal sacred landscape: an eastern kuṇḍa shimmering, with subtle undercurrent imagery of Sarasvatī ‘arriving’; a mythic submarine fire (Vaḍavānala) suggested as a glowing vortex beneath the waters; pilgrims approach with water pots and folded hands.

Characters & Entities

• Kuṇḍikā
• Sarasvatī
• Vaḍavānala
• Pūrva (east direction)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography links rivers and mythic forces to specific tīrthas, emphasizing their purifying power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kuṇḍikā tīrtha, identified as pāpa-nāśinī (sin-destroying) in Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, bathing at Kuṇḍikā is suggested by calling it sin-destroying; explicit instruction appears in the next verse.