Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि कर्दमालमनुत्तमम् । तीर्थं त्रैलोक्यविख्यातं सर्वपातकनाशनम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | tato gacchenmahādevi kardamālamanuttamam | tīrthaṃ trailokyavikhyātaṃ sarvapātakanāśanam

Translation

ഈശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ഹേ മഹാദേവി! തുടർന്ന് അനുത്തമമായ കർദമാല തീർത്ഥത്തിലേക്ക് പോകണം; അത് ത്രിലോകപ്രസിദ്ധവും സർവ്വപാപനാശിനിയും ആകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• ईश्वरः: Īśvara
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• ततः: then/from there
• ततः: Apadana/Sequence (From there/thereafter)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्; क्रम/कारणवाचक adverb)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Injunctive action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय ‘महा + देवी’

• कर्दमालम्: Kardamāla (tīrtha)
• कर्दमालम्: Karma (Destination/object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्दमाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तीर्थनाम

• अनुत्तमम्: unsurpassed
• अनुत्तमम्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• तीर्थम्: pilgrimage place
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• त्रैलोक्यविख्यातम्: famed in the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्यविख्यातम्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रैलोक्य + विख्यात (ख्यै धातु; क्त/कृदन्त)
• Form: ख्यै (धातु) + क्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष ‘त्रैलोक्ये विख्यातम्’

• सर्वपातकनाशनम्: destroyer of all sins
• सर्वपातकनाशनम्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + पातक + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष ‘सर्वेषां पातकानां नाशनम्’

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kardamāla

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva (Īśvara) instructs Devī on a coastal sacred landscape map of Prabhāsa, pointing toward a marked tīrtha named Kardamāla; pilgrims in the background approach with water pots.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Kardamāla
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma frames pilgrimage as a deliberate spiritual journey: going to a renowned tīrtha is itself a means of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kardamāla tīrtha in Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The instruction is to go (gacchet) to Kardamāla; specific rites are not yet stated in this verse.