Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

तदाप्रभृति विप्रेंद्र तत्स्थानं भुवि पप्रथे । कार्तिक्यां तु विशेषेण यात्रा सांवत्सरी भवेत्

Transliteration

tadāprabhṛti vipreṃdra tatsthānaṃ bhuvi paprathe | kārtikyāṃ tu viśeṣeṇa yātrā sāṃvatsarī bhavet

Translation

അന്നുമുതൽ, ഹേ വിപ്രേന്ദ്രാ, ആ സ്ഥലം ഭൂമിയിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധമായി. പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് കാർത്തിക മാസത്തിൽ അവിടത്തെ യാത്ര വാർഷിക അനുഷ്ഠാനമായി മാറുന്നു.

Word by Word

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kriya-visheshana (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (then)

• prabhṛti: from (that time) onward
• prabhṛti: Kriya-visheshana (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prabhṛti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आरम्भबोधक (from, starting from)

• viprendra: O best of Brahmins
• viprendra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra-indra (प्रातिपदिक; विप्र + इन्द्र)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—विप्राणाम् इन्द्रः

• tatsthānam: that place
• tatsthānam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat-sthāna (प्रातिपदिक; तत् + स्थान)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bhuvi: on earth
• bhuvi: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• paprathe: became renowned/spread
• paprathe: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√prath (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपदम्

• kārtikyām: in (the month of) Kārtikī
• kārtikyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārtikī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; मास/कालवाचक

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोधसूचक (but/indeed)

• viśeṣeṇa: especially
• viśeṣeṇa: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभावः (instrumental used adverbially): ‘especially’

• yātrā: the pilgrimage
• yātrā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sāṃvatsarī: annual
• sāṃvatsarī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sāṃvatsarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (यात्रायाः)

• bhavet: would be/should become
• bhavet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Agastya (addressing a brāhmaṇa interlocutor; likely Vyāsa in context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā-kṣetra (annual yātrā focus)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: viprendra (best of brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred map-like vision of Ayodhyā becoming renowned, with pilgrims arriving in Kārtika—lamps, banners, and orderly processions.

Characters & Entities

• Kārtika (month)
• Ayodhyā (implied tīrtha locale)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time amplifies sacred place: Kārtika is highlighted as a powerful period for tīrtha-yātrā and devotional merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The renowned tīrtha-place in Ayodhyā connected with the earlier saṅgama and Guptahari worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Undertake the yātrā particularly in Kārtika as a yearly religious observance.