Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

अस्मद्वाक्येन सत्येन तत्तथाऽसुरसत्तम । गयासमधिकं तीर्थं तव जातं धरातले

Transliteration

asmadvākyena satyena tattathā'surasattama | gayāsamadhikaṃ tīrthaṃ tava jātaṃ dharātale

Translation

Dengan kebenaran sabda kami, demikianlah pasti terjadi, wahai yang terbaik antara Asura. Di bumi telah muncul bagimu sebuah tīrtha suci yang setara—bahkan lebih—daripada Gayā.

Word by Word

• अस्मद्वाक्येन: by our statement
• अस्मद्वाक्येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम) + वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अस्मद्-षष्ठी + वाक्य)

• सत्येन: by truth
• सत्येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तथा: thus, so
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus)

• असुरसत्तम: O best of Asuras
• असुरसत्तम: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असुर (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; षष्ठी/तत्पुरुषार्थे ('श्रेष्ठः असुराणाम्')

• गयासमधिकम्: greater than Gayā
• गयासमधिकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गया (प्रातिपदिक) + समधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (गयाया: समधिकम् = 'exceeding Gayā')

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

• तव: for you / your
• तव: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• जातम्: has come into being
• जातम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जन् (धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle: 'has arisen/been born')

• धरातले: on the surface of the earth
• धरातले: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (धरायाः तलम्)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (contextual divine/authoritative voice within the narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Unnamed tīrtha proclaimed ‘Gayā-samadhika’

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Addressed to an ‘asura-sattama’ (best of Asuras)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A divine or sage-like figure pronounces a truth-sentence; from the spoken word, a luminous river-ford/ghāṭa manifests on earth, with Gayā’s emblematic śrāddha imagery (piṇḍas, kuśa, pitṛs) hinted in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Gayā
• tīrtha
• Asura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Satya (truth) is portrayed as a creative, world-shaping शक्ति—capable of establishing a tīrtha and its merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gayā is the benchmark tīrtha; the verse proclaims the arising of a Gayā-equal/superior tīrtha on earth in this Dharmāraṇya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not explicitly in this verse; the surrounding passage connects this tīrtha to ancestral satisfaction (piṇḍa-related rites).