Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मज्ञानेन किं योगैर्गोग्रहे मरणेन किम् । किं कुरुक्षेत्रवासेन गोष्पदे यदि गच्छति

Transliteration

brahmajñānena kiṃ yogairgograhe maraṇena kim | kiṃ kurukṣetravāsena goṣpade yadi gacchati

Translation

ബ്രഹ്മജ്ഞാനം എന്തിന്, യോഗസാധനകൾ എന്തിന്, ഗോഗ്രഹത്തിൽ മരണം എന്തിന്, കുരുക്ഷേത്രവാസം എന്തിന്—ഗോഷ്പദത്തിലേക്ക് പോകുന്നുവെങ്കിൽ മതി।

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मज्ञानेन: by knowledge of Brahman
• ब्रह्मज्ञानेन: Karana (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म + ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मणः ज्ञानम्)

• किम्: what (use?)
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• योगैः: by yogas, disciplines
• योगैः: Karana (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• गोग्रहे: in a cow-shed
• गोग्रहे: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो + ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; ‘गो-ग्रह’ = गोषु ग्रहः/ग्रहणम् (cow-pen/cow-shed)

• मरणेन: by dying (death)
• मरणेन: Karana/Hetu (Means/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• किम्: what (use?)
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• किम्: what (use?)
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• कुरुक्षेत्रवासेन: by dwelling in Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रवासेन: Karana (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुक्षेत्र + वास (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः (कुरुक्षेत्रे वासः)

• गोष्पदे: at Goṣpada
• गोष्पदे: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो + पद (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘गोः पदम्’ (cow’s footprint; name of a tīrtha)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक अव्यय (conditional conjunction)

• गच्छति: he goes
• गच्छति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sūta (deduced: comparative tīrtha-phala praise typical of māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Goṣpada

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: on one side yogis, jñānins, and Kurukṣetra pilgrims; on the other, a single pilgrim walking toward Goṣpada, with the tīrtha shining brighter than all other paths combined.

Characters & Entities

• Goṣpada (tīrtha)
• Kurukṣetra
• Go-graha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supremely praised tīrtha can concentrate spiritual merit, making other arduous paths seem secondary in comparison.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Goṣpada-tīrtha is exalted above other famed practices and places.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pilgrimage—going to Goṣpada is presented as the decisive act.