Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

तीर्थं वस्त्रापथं गत्वा भवस्याग्रे महानदी । जाले तत्र शिरो दृष्टं तच्च तोये विमोचितम्

Transliteration

tīrthaṃ vastrāpathaṃ gatvā bhavasyāgre mahānadī | jāle tatra śiro dṛṣṭaṃ tacca toye vimocitam

Translation

వస్త్రాపథ అనే తీర్థానికి వెళ్లి, భవుడు (శివుడు) ఎదుటనున్న మహానదిలో అక్కడ వలలో చిక్కిన శిరస్సును చూసి, దానిని నీటిలో విడిపించాడు।

Word by Word

• tīrtham: the sacred ford
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• vastrāpatham: Vastrāpatha
• vastrāpatham: Karma (Apposition/कर्म-समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vastrāpatha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (vastrāṇāṃ pathaḥ)

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त; पूर्वकाल (absolutive/gerund)

• bhavasya: of Bhava (Śiva)
• bhavasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• agre: in front; before
• agre: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• mahānadī: the great river
• mahānadī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महती नदी)

• jāle: in the net
• jāle: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरणार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (adverb of place)

• śiraḥ: the head
• śiraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• dṛṣṭam: was seen
• dṛṣṭam: Kriya (Passive predicate/क्रियापद)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मणि (seen)

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Determiner/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (समासपूर्वपद-रूप)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• toye: in the water
• toye: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: toya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• vimocitam: was freed; was released
• vimocitam: Kriya (Passive predicate/क्रियापद)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-muc (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मणि (released)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; within Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Vastrāpatha ford, before a shrine/presence of Bhava, a devotee finds a severed head caught in a fishing net (jāla) in the river and reverently releases it into the flowing water.

Characters & Entities

• Vastrāpatha Tīrtha
• Bhava (Śiva)
• Mahānadī (great river)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Compassionate, dharmic action performed at a tīrtha—especially near Śiva—becomes spiritually significant and is framed as part of the site’s greatness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vastrāpatha Tīrtha in the Prabhāsa region, associated with Bhava (Śiva) and a great river.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit vow is prescribed here; the verse highlights a tīrtha-episode involving releasing what was trapped (a head) into the sacred waters.