Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

प्रह्लाद उवाच । मा गच्छध्वं सुरनदीं कालिंदीं मा सरस्वतीम् । गच्छध्वं च द्विजश्रेष्ठा गोमत्युदधिसंगमे

Transliteration

prahlāda uvāca | mā gacchadhvaṃ suranadīṃ kāliṃdīṃ mā sarasvatīm | gacchadhvaṃ ca dvijaśreṣṭhā gomatyudadhisaṃgame

Translation

Prahlāda berkata: “Janganlah kamu pergi ke sungai dewa, Gaṅgā; jangan ke Kāliṇdī (Yamunā), dan jangan pula ke Sarasvatī. Sebaliknya, wahai brāhmaṇa yang utama, pergilah ke pertemuan Sungai Gomati dengan Samudera.”

Word by Word

• प्रह्लादः: Prahlāda
• प्रह्लादः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रह्लाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person/प्रथमपुरुष), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• मा: do not
• मा: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मा (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (prohibitive particle, used with imperative/optative)

• गच्छध्वम्: go
• गच्छध्वम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/लोट्), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person/मध्यमपुरुष), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• सुरनदीम्: the river of the gods
• सुरनदीम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरनदी (प्रातिपदिक) = सुर + नदी
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (सुराणां नदी)

• कालिन्दीम्: Kālindī (Yamunā)
• कालिन्दीम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालिन्दी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• मा: do not
• मा: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मा (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (prohibitive particle)

• सरस्वतीम्: Sarasvatī (river)
• सरस्वतीम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• गच्छध्वम्: go
• गच्छध्वम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/लोट्), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person/मध्यमपुरुष), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

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

• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: O best of the twice-born
• द्विजश्रेष्ठाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विजश्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) = द्विज + श्रेष्ठ
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative/संबोधन), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समास

• गोमती: Gomatī (river)
• गोमती: Purvapada (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोमती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासे पूर्वपदत्वेन

• उदधिसंगमे: at the confluence with the ocean
• उदधिसंगमे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उदधिसंगम (प्रातिपदिक) = उदधि + संगम
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (उदधिना संगमः)

Speaker

Prahlāda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: गोमती-उदधि-संगम (Gomati–Sāgara Saṅgama)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-śreṣṭhāḥ (best of brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Prahlāda addresses assembled brāhmaṇas, redirecting them from Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī toward the Gomati’s estuary at Dvārakā; in the distance the sea meets the river under a luminous sky.

Characters & Entities

• Prahlāda
• Gomati
• Ocean (Udādhi/Sāgara)
• Gaṅgā (implied by suranadī)
• Yamunā (Kāliṇdī)
• Sarasvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography redirects devotion to a specific local tīrtha, declaring it equal or superior in merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gomati–Ocean confluence (Gomatī-udadhi-saṅgama) in the Dvārakā region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A directive to undertake tīrtha-yātrā to the Gomati–Ocean confluence; specific rites follow in subsequent verses.