Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 97

Devanagari script

याः काश्चित्सरितो लोके तासां पुण्या सरस्वती

Transliteration

yāḥ kāścitsarito loke tāsāṃ puṇyā sarasvatī

Translation

లోకంలో ఏ ఏ నదులున్నా, వాటిలో సరస్వతి పుణ్యమయినది (శ్రేష్ఠమైనది)।

Word by Word

• याः: which (those)
• याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (feminine, nominative plural; relative pronoun)

• काश्चित्: some (any)
• काश्चित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + चित् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun: 'some')

• सरितः: rivers
• सरितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (feminine, nominative plural)

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (masculine, locative singular)

• तासाम्: of them
• तासाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (feminine, genitive plural; pronoun)

• पुण्या: holy
• पुण्या: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (feminine nominative singular)

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī
• सरस्वती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (feminine nominative singular)

Speaker

Unspecified (māhātmya-style eulogy; likely the main narrator continuing the praise)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: a map-like vision of many rivers converging in a cosmic landscape, with Sarasvatī shining brighter, marked by lotuses and sacred light.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Not all sacred waters are described as equal; Purāṇic tradition ranks certain tīrthas as especially merit-giving.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Sarasvatī—understood in the Prabhāsa-kṣetra context as a foremost tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse functions as a declaration of tīrtha-preeminence.