Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

पृथक्पृथक्समाहूताः स्नानार्थं तैः सरस्वती । सागरः सम्मुखस्तस्याः सहसा सम्मुपस्थितः

Transliteration

pṛthakpṛthaksamāhūtāḥ snānārthaṃ taiḥ sarasvatī | sāgaraḥ sammukhastasyāḥ sahasā sammupasthitaḥ

Translation

സ്നാനാർത്ഥം അവർ വേർവേറായി ആഹ്വാനം ചെയ്തപ്പോൾ, സരസ്വതീദേവിയുടെ മുമ്പിൽ അപ്രതീക്ഷിതമായി സമുദ്രം നേരെ പ്രത്യക്ഷപ്പെട്ടു।

Word by Word

• पृथक्: separately
• पृथक्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• पृथक्: each separately
• पृथक्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्ति (repetition for emphasis)

• समाहूताः: having been summoned
• समाहूताः: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-ह्वे (धातु) → समाहूत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘having been called/summoned’

• स्नानार्थम्: for bathing
• स्नानार्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थक (purpose)

• तैः: by them
• तैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī (river/goddess)
• सरस्वती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सागरः: the ocean
• सागरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सम्मुखः: facing (her)
• सम्मुखः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying सागरः)

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सहसा: suddenly
• सहसा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहसा (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• सम्मुपस्थितः: appeared/arrived
• सम्मुपस्थितः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-उप-स्था (धातु) → उपस्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past active participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘has come/appeared’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced for Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra Sarasvatī–Sāgara-sammukha (coastal meeting)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly of sages (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the shore of Prabhāsa, sages stand apart invoking Sarasvatī for snāna; suddenly the vast Ocean rises/appears face-to-face with the river-goddess, suggesting a living confluence.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Sāgara (Ocean)
• Hariṇa
• Vajra
• Nyaṅku
• Kapila

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy bathing is not merely physical; it is a meeting of sacred presences—river and ocean—invoked by the merit and intention of sages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, especially the sacred meeting-zone where Sarasvatī is invoked for snāna and the Ocean stands before her.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) is explicitly indicated as the purpose for which Sarasvatī is summoned.