Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 113

Devanagari script

तीर्थेषु सुप्रसिद्धेषु नदीनदयुतेषु च । वाराणस्यां प्रयागे च प्रभासे कुरुजांगले

Transliteration

tīrtheṣu suprasiddheṣu nadīnadayuteṣu ca | vārāṇasyāṃ prayāge ca prabhāse kurujāṃgale

Translation

अतिशय प्रसिद्ध तीर्थांत, असंख्य नद्या-सरितांच्या तीरांवर—वाराणसीत, प्रयागात, प्रभासात आणि कुरुजांगल प्रदेशातही (मी तीर्थकर्म केले)।

Word by Word

• तीर्थेषु: in sacred places
• तीर्थेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), बहुवचन

• सुप्रसिद्धेषु: well-renowned
• सुप्रसिद्धेषु: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुप्रसिद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), बहुवचन; तीर्थेषु इति विशेषण

• नदी-नद-युतेषु: endowed with rivers and streams
• नदी-नद-युतेषु: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक) + नद (प्रातिपदिक) + युत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (नदीभिः नदैः च युतानि)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• वाराणस्याम्: in Vārāṇasī
• वाराणस्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• प्रयागे: in Prayāga
• प्रयागे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रयाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• प्रभासे: in Prabhāsa
• प्रभासे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• कुरुजाङ्गले: in Kuru-jāṅgala
• कुरुजाङ्गले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुजाङ्गल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

Speaker

Śakra (Indra/Vāsava), lamenting his impurity despite pilgrimages

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vārāṇasī; Prayāga; Prabhāsa; Kurujāṅgala (regional tīrthas)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A litany-vision of four famed landscapes: Kāśī’s ghāṭas and liṅgas, Prayāga’s confluence, Prabhāsa’s sea-shore shrine, and the plains of Kurujāṅgala with ancient tīrthas—presented as a pilgrim’s remembered map.

Characters & Entities

• Vārāṇasī (Kāśī)
• Prayāga
• Prabhāsa
• Kurujāṅgala

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even extensive pilgrimage must be joined with inner purification; mere travel to tīrthas is not automatically liberating.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), Prayāga, Prabhāsa, and Kurujāṅgala are listed as celebrated tīrtha-regions.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pilgrimage and implied snāna (ritual bathing) at renowned tīrthas and rivers.