Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 115

Devanagari script

नैमिषे चक्रवापी तु यथा तीर्थतमा स्मृता । अयोध्यायां तथा विप्र गोप्रताराभिधं महत्

Transliteration

naimiṣe cakravāpī tu yathā tīrthatamā smṛtā | ayodhyāyāṃ tathā vipra gopratārābhidhaṃ mahat

Translation

നൈമിഷത്തിൽ ചക്രവാപീ എങ്ങനെ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളിൽ ഏറ്റവും ശ്രേഷ്ഠമായി സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നുവോ, അതുപോലെ അയോധ്യയിൽ, ഹേ ബ്രാഹ്മണാ, ഗോപൃതാരാ എന്ന മഹത്തീർത്ഥം പരമോന്നതമാണ്।

Word by Word

• नैमिषे: in Naimiṣa
• नैमिषे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैमिष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• चक्रवापी: Cakravāpī (a sacred well/pond)
• चक्रवापी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्रवापी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधसूचक (particle: ‘indeed/but’)

• यथा: just as
• यथा: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकारवाचक

• तीर्थतमा: most sacred (among tīrthas)
• तीर्थतमा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ-तम (प्रातिपदिक); घटकाः: तीर्थ + तम (तमप्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तमप्-प्रत्ययान्त (superlative): ‘most sacred’

• स्मृता: is remembered (as)
• स्मृता: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृत (कृदन्त); √स्मृ (धातु) + क्त
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे भावार्थः: ‘is remembered/called’ (predicate participle)

• अयोध्यायाम्: in Ayodhyā
• अयोध्यायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयोध्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तद्वत्/एवम् (correlative adverb: ‘so/likewise’)

• विप्र: O brāhmaṇa
• विप्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• गोप्रताराभिधम्: named ‘Go-pratāra’
• गोप्रताराभिधम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गोप्रतार-अभिध (प्रातिपदिक); घटकाः: गोप्रतार + अभिध
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (गोप्रतार इति अभिधा यस्य): ‘named Go-pratāra’

• महत्: great
• महत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of implied tīrtham)

Speaker

Unknown (Ayodhyāmāhātmya narrator; likely a Purāṇic teacher addressing a listener)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gopratārā

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vyāsa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A map-like sacred tableau: Ayodhyā on the Sarayū with the Gopratārā tīrtha highlighted, while a distant vignette shows Naimiṣa’s Cakravāpī as a comparative emblem; sages and pilgrims gesture toward the waters in reverence.

Characters & Entities

• Naimiṣa
• Cakravāpī
• Ayodhyā
• Gopratārā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A region’s spiritual identity is often anchored in a signature tīrtha regarded as its supreme purifier.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gopratārā tīrtha in Ayodhyā, compared to Cakravāpī of Naimiṣa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied pilgrimage and tīrtha-snāna at Gopratārā as Ayodhyā’s foremost sacred spot.