Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

मनुष्यास्ते सदा धन्यास्तत्तोयं तु पिबंति ये । अस्थीनि यत्र लीयंते षण्मासाभ्यन्तरेण तु

Transliteration

manuṣyāste sadā dhanyāstattoyaṃ tu pibaṃti ye | asthīni yatra līyaṃte ṣaṇmāsābhyantareṇa tu

Translation

அந்தப் புனித நீரை அருந்தும் மனிதர்கள் எப்போதும் பாக்கியவான்கள்; ஏனெனில் அங்கே எலும்புகள்கூட ஆறு மாதங்களுக்குள் கரைந்து லயமாகும் எனச் சொல்லப்படுகிறது.

Word by Word

• मनुष्याः: people
• मनुष्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ते: those
• ते: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural (pronoun)

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• धन्याः: blessed
• धन्याः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative, Singular (demonstrative)

• तोयम्: water
• तोयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• पिबन्ति: drink
• पिबन्ति: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद — Present, 3rd person, Plural, Parasmaipada

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative, Plural (relative pronoun)

• अस्थीनि: bones
• अस्थीनि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन — Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (relative adverb of place)

• लीयन्ते: dissolve/merge
• लीयन्ते: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ली (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive), आत्मनेपद — Present, 3rd person, Plural; passive

• षण्मासाभ्यन्तरेण: within six months
• षण्मासाभ्यन्तरेण: Adhikaraṇa/Kāla (Time circumstance)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षण्मास + अभ्यन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन — Neuter, Instrumental, Singular; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (षण्मासानाम् अभ्यन्तरम्)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the assembled Ṛṣis (contextual attribution within Māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ṛṣitoyā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotees cup hands to drink sacred water at the riverbank; a subtle mystical visualization shows bones dissolving into light within the tīrtha’s sanctified ground, indicating total purification.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣitoyā (implied)
• Tīrtha (place of dissolution/merit)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-water is portrayed as intensely purifying—granting blessing to the living and sanctifying even the remains of the dead.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ṛṣitoyā/Mahodaya Mahātīrtha within Prabhāsa Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Drinking the tīrtha-water (as a sanctified act); the verse also alludes to post-death sanctification associated with the site.