Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

सरस्वतीवाससमा कुतो रतिः सरस्वतीवाससमाः कुतो गुणाः । सरस्वतीं प्राप्य गता दिवं नराः पुनः स्मरिष्यंति नदीं सरस्वतीम्

Transliteration

sarasvatīvāsasamā kuto ratiḥ sarasvatīvāsasamāḥ kuto guṇāḥ | sarasvatīṃ prāpya gatā divaṃ narāḥ punaḥ smariṣyaṃti nadīṃ sarasvatīm

Translation

సరస్వతీ తీరవాసానికి సమానమైన ఆనందం ఎక్కడ? సరస్వతీ ధామవాసానికి సమానమైన గుణాలు ఎక్కడ? సరస్వతీని పొందిన నరులు స్వర్గానికి వెళ్తారు, అయినా మళ్లీ మళ్లీ సరస్వతీ నదినే స్మరిస్తారు.

Word by Word

• sarasvatī-vāsa-samā: equal to dwelling at Sarasvatī
• sarasvatī-vāsa-samā: Karta-predicative (Predicate adjective/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarasvatī + vāsa + sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—सरस्वती-वासेन समा (तृतीया/तत्पुरुष; 'equal to residence at Sarasvatī'); विशेषण (ratiḥ)

• kutaḥ: how/whence
• kutaḥ: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutaḥ (अव्यय/प्रश्न)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (interrogative adverb: whence/how)

• ratiḥ: delight/pleasure
• ratiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• sarasvatī-vāsa-samāḥ: equal to dwelling at Sarasvatī
• sarasvatī-vāsa-samāḥ: Karta-predicative (Predicate adjective/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarasvatī + vāsa + sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—सरस्वती-वासेन समाः (तृतीया/तत्पुरुष); विशेषण (guṇāḥ)

• kutaḥ: how/whence
• kutaḥ: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutaḥ (अव्यय/प्रश्न)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• guṇāḥ: virtues/merits
• guṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• sarasvatīm: Sarasvatī
• sarasvatīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• prāpya: having reached
• prāpya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √prāp (प्राप् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव

• gatāḥ: having gone
• gatāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: कृत-प्रत्यय (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्तरि-भाव (as adjectival: 'gone')

• divam: to heaven
• divam: Karma (Goal/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: div (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (दिव्/द्यौः-शब्द; here 'divam')

• narāḥ: men/people
• narāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरावृत्ति-अव्यय (adverb: again)

• smariṣyanti: will remember
• smariṣyanti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (स्मृ धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• nadīm: the river
• nadīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• sarasvatīm: Sarasvatī
• sarasvatīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nadīm इति विशेषण-सम्बन्ध (apposition)

Speaker

Narrative voice (contextual; immediately followed by ‘Īśvara uvāca’ in next verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī (Prācī Sarasvatī in Prabhāsa)

Type: sangam

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Personified Sarasvatī-river as a luminous goddess-river flowing through Prabhāsa landscape; pilgrims dwelling on her banks in hermitages; a celestial ascent scene where souls reach heaven yet look back in longing toward the river.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī (river)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Association with a sacred tīrtha—here Sarasvatī—cultivates virtue and grants heavenly merit, yet the devotee’s heart remains drawn to the holy river.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Sarasvatī, especially the Prācī Sarasvatī connected with Prabhāsa Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the emphasis is on attaining/residing with Sarasvatī as a source of puṇya.