Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

वृषतीर्थे महापुण्ये प्राचीकूलसमाश्रिते । निवृत्ते भारते युद्धे तस्मिंस्तीर्थे किरीटिना । प्रायश्चित्तं पुरा चीर्णं विष्णुना प्रेरितात्मना

Transliteration

vṛṣatīrthe mahāpuṇye prācīkūlasamāśrite | nivṛtte bhārate yuddhe tasmiṃstīrthe kirīṭinā | prāyaścittaṃ purā cīrṇaṃ viṣṇunā preritātmanā

Translation

പ്രാചീ തീരത്തെ ആശ്രയിച്ച മഹാപുണ്യ വൃഷതീർത്ഥത്തിൽ—ഭാരതയുദ്ധം അവസാനിച്ചതിന് ശേഷം—കിരീടി അർജുനൻ വിഷ്ണുവിന്റെ അന്തഃപ്രേരണയാൽ അതേ തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ പൂർവ്വം പ്രായശ്ചിത്തം അനുഷ്ഠിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• वृषतीर्थे: at the Vṛṣa-tīrtha
• वृषतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषतीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) = वृष + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वृषस्य तीर्थम्)

• महापुण्ये: in the very holy (place)
• महापुण्ये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महापुण्य (प्रातिपदिक) = महा + पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (तीर्थे)

• प्राचीकूलसमाश्रिते: situated on the eastern bank
• प्राचीकूलसमाश्रिते: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राचीकूलसमाश्रित (प्रातिपदिक) = प्राची + कूल + सम्-आ-श्रि (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) ‘समाश्रित’; समासः—तत्पुरुष (प्राच्याः कूलम् समाश्रितम्)

• निवृत्ते: when (it) had ceased
• निवृत्ते: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-√वृत् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; विशेषणम् (युद्धे)

• भारते: of the Bhārata (Mahābhārata)
• भारते: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (युद्धे)

• युद्धे: in the war
• युद्धे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तीर्थे: at the sacred ford
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• किरीटिना: by the diademed one (Arjuna)
• किरीटिना: Kartr (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किरीटिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• प्रायश्चित्तम्: expiation
• प्रायश्चित्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रायश्चित्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मपदम्

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Adverbial (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• चीर्णम्: performed
• चीर्णम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √चर् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; (प्रायश्चित्तम्) विशेषणरूपेण—‘performed’

• विष्णुना: by Viṣṇu
• विष्णुना: Hetu/Instrument (Nimitta/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• प्रेरितात्मना: whose mind was impelled (inspired)
• प्रेरितात्मना: Kartr (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रेरितात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) = प्र-√ईर्/√इर् (धातु) + णिच् + क्त (कृदन्त ‘प्रेरित’) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (प्रेरितः आत्मा यस्य/प्रेरित-आत्मा); विशेषणम् (किरीटिना)

Speaker

Narratorial voice (contextual praise within the Māhātmya; specific speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vṛṣa-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A feminine interlocutor within the māhātmya frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Arjuna, still bearing the aura of battle, stands at a riverbank tīrtha (Vṛṣa-tīrtha) offering water and prayers; a subtle presence of Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa as inner guide is suggested—either as a faint divine figure or symbolic chakra light.

Characters & Entities

• Vṛṣa-tīrtha
• Prācī
• Kirīṭin (Arjuna)
• Viṣṇu
• Bhārata war

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even heroic dharma-bound actions can leave karmic residue; tīrtha-based prāyaścitta restores inner purity and social-spiritual order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vṛṣa-tīrtha, located on the bank of Prācī within the Prabhāsa sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prāyaścitta (expiatory observance) undertaken at the tīrtha, exemplified by Arjuna.