Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

मिलित्वा तत्र तु स्नानं सहस्रगुणितं स्मृतम् । नदीष्वेतासु यत्स्नानात्फलं पुंसां भवेत्कपे

Transliteration

militvā tatra tu snānaṃ sahasraguṇitaṃ smṛtam | nadīṣvetāsu yatsnānātphalaṃ puṃsāṃ bhavetkape

Translation

Quando ali se unem, o banho é lembrado como mil vezes meritório. Ó herói dos macacos, o fruto que os homens obtêm ao banhar-se nestes rios ali se manifesta de modo especial.

Word by Word

• militvā: having met; after joining
• militvā: Kriya (Prior action/क्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mil (मिल् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): ‘having met/come together’

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb): ‘there’

• tu: indeed; but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle): emphasis/contrast

• snānam: bathing
• snānam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (स्ना धातु, ल्युट्-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त-नाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• sahasra-guṇitam: a thousandfold (increased)
• sahasra-guṇitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + guṇita (गुण्/गण् धातु, क्त; कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of snānam): ‘multiplied a thousandfold’

• smṛtam: is declared; is remembered as
• smṛtam: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: smṛ (स्मृ धातु, क्त; कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम्: ‘is said/considered’

• nadīṣu: in the rivers
• nadīṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (locative), बहुवचन

• etāsu: in these
• etāsu: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (locative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (of nadīṣu): ‘in these’

• yat: whose; which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (genitive) एकवचन/सम्बन्ध-प्रयोगः; सम्बन्धसूचकं ‘whose/which’ (linking to snāna)

• snānāt: from bathing
• snānāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (स्ना धातु, ल्युट्; कृदन्त-नाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (ablative), एकवचन

• phalam: fruit; result
• phalam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• puṃsām: of men; of people
• puṃsām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṃs (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (genitive), बहुवचन

• bhavet: would be; may become
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• kape: O monkey
• kape: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Triveṇī-sangama (union of Gaṅgā–Yamunā–Sarasvatī)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kape (vānara hero)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the sangama, two visible rivers meet while a third is suggested as a radiant current; crowds of pilgrims bathe; the air feels charged, as if merit itself becomes visible—light rays over the water and calm faces of bathers.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Yamunā
• Sarasvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual results depend on sacred geography and auspicious conjunctions; confluence-bathing greatly amplifies merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sangam-like tīrtha where the three sacred rivers are described as meeting, within Setukhaṇḍa’s landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) specifically at the confluence, stated to yield thousandfold merit.