Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

दामोदरसमं तीर्थं न भूतं न भविष्यति । मासानां कार्त्तिकः श्रेष्ठः कार्त्तिके भीष्मपंचकम्

Transliteration

dāmodarasamaṃ tīrthaṃ na bhūtaṃ na bhaviṣyati | māsānāṃ kārttikaḥ śreṣṭhaḥ kārttike bhīṣmapaṃcakam

Translation

ദാമോദരത്തിന് തുല്യമായ തീർത്ഥം മുമ്പ് ഉണ്ടായിട്ടില്ല; ഇനി ഉണ്ടാകുകയും ഇല്ല. മാസങ്ങളിൽ കാർത്തികം ശ്രേഷ്ഠം; കാർത്തികത്തിൽ ഭീഷ്മപഞ്ചകം അതിവിശുദ്ധം.

Word by Word

• दामोदरसमम्: equal to Dāmodara
• दामोदरसमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दामोदर + सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषण; ‘equal to Dāmodara’

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford; pilgrimage place
• तीर्थम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — कर्तृ/विषयपद

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• भूतम्: has been; existed
• भूतम्: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘been/existed’

• न: nor
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• भविष्यति: will exist
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘will be’

• मासानाम्: of months
• मासानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन — ‘of months’

• कार्त्तिकः: Kārttika
• कार्त्तिकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्त्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘Kārttika (month)’

• श्रेष्ठः: best
• श्रेष्ठः: Predicate adjective (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — विधेयविशेषण; ‘best’

• कार्त्तिके: in Kārttika
• कार्त्तिके: Adhikarana (Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्त्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — ‘in Kārttika’

• भीष्मपञ्चकम्: the Bhīṣma-pañcaka (five-day vow)
• भीष्मपञ्चकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म + पञ्चक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘Bhīṣma-pañcaka (five-day observance)’

Speaker

Bhadra

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dāmodara-tīrtha

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A proclamation scene at a sacred ford named Dāmodara: banners and lamps of Kārttika, pilgrims preparing for Bhīṣma-pañcaka austerities; a divine aura suggests timeless supremacy of the tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Dāmodara
• Kārttika (month)
• Bhīṣma-pañcaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time and sacred place amplify merit: Kārttika is exalted, and Dāmodara-tīrtha is proclaimed unrivaled.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dāmodara-tīrtha (a Dāmodara-associated sacred water/place) within the Prabhāsa sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observance of Bhīṣma-pañcaka during the month of Kārttika.