Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

पातालवाहिनीगंगा स्रोतांसि तत्र भूरिशः । समानीतानि हरिणा तत्र तिष्ठंति भामिनि

Transliteration

pātālavāhinīgaṃgā srotāṃsi tatra bhūriśaḥ | samānītāni hariṇā tatra tiṣṭhaṃti bhāmini

Translation

హే సుందరి, అక్కడ పాతాళవాహినీ గంగ యొక్క అనేక ప్రవాహాలు ఉన్నాయి. హరి వాటిని అక్కడ సమీకరించాడు; అవి ఆ స్థలంలోనే స్థిరంగా నిలిచివున్నాయి.

Word by Word

• पातालवाहिनीगङ्गा: the Gaṅgā that flows to/through Pātāla
• पातालवाहिनीगङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक) + वाहिनी (प्रातिपदिक) + गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (पातालं वहति या वाहिनी; सा गङ्गा)

• स्रोतांसि: streams, channels
• स्रोतांसि: Karta (Co-subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्रोतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-अव्यय (there)

• भूरिशः: in great abundance
• भूरिशः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूरिशस् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययम्; परिमाण/बहुत्ववाचक-अव्यय (in abundance, greatly)

• समानीतानि: have been brought/assembled
• समानीतानि: Kriyā (Predicative verbal notion/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√नी (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; कर्मणि (brought/collected)

• हरिणा: by Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरिणा: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचनम् (singular)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-अव्यय (there)

• तिष्ठन्ति: stand/remain
• तिष्ठन्ति: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• भामिनि: O fair/beautiful lady
• भामिनि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भामिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचनम् (singular)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ratnakuṇḍa (Gaṅgā-srotasām sannidhi)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (bhāminī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A jewel-like pond with multiple translucent streams entering from below the earth, depicted as serpent-like watercourses; Viṣṇu (Hari) gestures as if drawing the currents together; Devī listens beside Śiva in a teaching posture.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Pātāla
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are sanctified by divine arrangement; approaching them with reverence connects one to the purifying power of Gaṅgā and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where multiple Gaṅgā-streams are said to remain established.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is commanded here; the verse establishes the tīrtha’s sanctity as groundwork for practices like darśana and snāna.