Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

जितं भो जितमस्भाभिर्धन्या धन्यतमा वयम् । दैवादपगतो मोहो ज्ञातं तीर्थोत्तमोत्तमम्

Transliteration

jitaṃ bho jitamasbhābhirdhanyā dhanyatamā vayam | daivādapagato moho jñātaṃ tīrthottamottamam

Translation

வெற்றி—ஆம், வெற்றி நமதே! நாம் பாக்கியவான்கள், மிகப் பாக்கியவான்கள். தெய்வ அருளால் நம் மயக்கம் நீங்கி, தீர்த்தங்களில் பரமோத்தமமான தீர்த்தத்தை அறிந்தோம்.

Word by Word

• जितम्: won; victory (is) achieved
• जितम्: Kriya (Exclamation/भाववाच्य)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जि (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भावे प्रयोगः (elliptic: 'victory is won')

• भो: O!
• भो: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भो (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बोधन-निपात (vocative particle)

• जितम्: won indeed
• जितम्: Kriya (Exclamation)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जि (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-बल (emphatic repetition)

• अस्माभिः: by us
• अस्माभिः: Kartr-karana (Agent expressed instrumentally)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• धन्याः: fortunate, blessed
• धन्याः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (of वयम्)

• धन्यतमाः: most fortunate
• धन्यतमाः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तमप्-प्रत्यय (superlative)

• वयम्: we
• वयम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• दैवात्: by fate; from destiny
• दैवात्: Hetu (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे कारणे (by fate)

• अपगतः: has gone away, departed
• अपगतः: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अप-गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः

• मोहः: delusion
• मोहः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ज्ञातम्: is known/has been known
• ज्ञातम्: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भावे प्रयोगः (it is known)

• तीर्थोत्तमोत्तमम्: the supreme best of pilgrimage places
• तीर्थोत्तमोत्तमम्: Karma (Object of ज्ञातम्, understood)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (तीर्थेषु उत्तमम् उत्तमम् = सर्वोत्तमं तीर्थम्)

Speaker

Pilgrims/assembled tīrthas and attendants (collective voice within Prahlāda’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (typical frame) / internal audience of tīrthas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A chorus of pilgrims or personified tīrthas exclaiming ‘Jaya!’ as a radiant realization dawns; a subtle aura of Kṛṣṇa’s grace dispels a dark veil of delusion, revealing a luminous sacred landscape of Dvārakā by the sea.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha (supreme tīrtha)
• divine will (daiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Recognizing the supreme tīrtha is portrayed as a spiritual victory that dispels delusion and confirms one’s blessedness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse celebrates the discovery/recognition of the ‘tīrthottamottama,’ understood in context as Dvārakā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; the emphasis is on inner awakening and acknowledgement of the supreme holy place.