Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मविष्णुशिवादीनां मध्ये कोऽयं व्यवस्थितः । केयं नदी स्वर्णरेखा सर्वपातकनाशिनी

Transliteration

brahmaviṣṇuśivādīnāṃ madhye ko'yaṃ vyavasthitaḥ | keyaṃ nadī svarṇarekhā sarvapātakanāśinī

Translation

ബ്രഹ്മാ, വിഷ്ണു, ശിവൻ മുതലായവരുടെ മദ്ധ്യേ ഇവിടെ സ്ഥാപിതനായിരിക്കുന്നത് ആരാണ്? കൂടാതെ സർവ്വപാപനാശിനിയായ ഈ സ്വർണരേഖാ നദി ഏതാണ്?

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मविष्णुशिवादीनाम्: of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva and others
• ब्रह्मविष्णुशिवादीनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + विष्णु + शिव + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः (brahmā-viṣṇu-śiva-ādi)

• मध्ये: in the midst
• मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative)

• कः: who?
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• अयम्: this (one)
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; निर्देशवाचक सर्वनाम

• व्यवस्थितः: is stationed/stands
• व्यवस्थितः: Karta (Predicate/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यवस्था (धातु √स्था) + वि + अव (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अर्थः—स्थितः/स्थितवान् (having been stationed)

• का: who?/which (f.)?
• का: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• इयम्: this (f.)
• इयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; निर्देशवाचक सर्वनाम

• नदी: river
• नदी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• स्वर्णरेखा: (named) Svarṇarekhā
• स्वर्णरेखा: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ण + रेखा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (svarṇasya rekhā)

• सर्वपातकनाशिनी: destroyer of all sins
• सर्वपातकनाशिनी: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + पातक + नाशिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (sarvapātakānāṃ nāśinī)

Speaker

Bhojarāja

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Svarṇarekhā (river/tīrtha)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sārasvata

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bhojarāja asks: who is the One established here among Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva? The Svarṇarekhā river glows as a golden-thread stream, symbolizing sin-destruction and divine immanence.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Viṣṇu
• Śiva
• Svarṇarekhā (river)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage traditions invite discernment: understanding the deity and the river’s sanctity clarifies the path of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Svarṇarekhā river-tīrtha connected to Vastrāpatha-kṣetra in Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse frames the river as ‘destroyer of sins,’ implying purificatory contact such as snāna.