Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

अशोकवनिकायाश्च तीर्थं लक्षं प्रतिष्ठितम् । शतमं गारगर्तायाः सङ्गमे मुनिसत्तमाः

Transliteration

aśokavanikāyāśca tīrthaṃ lakṣaṃ pratiṣṭhitam | śatamaṃ gāragartāyāḥ saṅgame munisattamāḥ

Translation

ณ อโศก-วนิกา ก็มีทีรถะหนึ่งแสนตั้งมั่นอยู่ และที่สังคมของคารคฤตา โอ้ฤๅษีผู้ประเสริฐ มีทีรถะหนึ่งร้อย

Word by Word

• अशोक-वनिकायाः: of the Aśoka-grove
• अशोक-वनिकायाः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशोक (प्रातिपदिक) + वनिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठीविभक्ति; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अशोकस्य वनिका)

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

• तीर्थम्: a tīrtha
• तीर्थम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd; nominative/accusative); एकवचन

• लक्षम्: one hundred thousand
• लक्षम्: Visheshana (Quantifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक; संख्या)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• प्रतिष्ठितम्: established, situated
• प्रतिष्ठितम्: Kriya (Predicative/क्रियाविशेषण-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रति-√स्था (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थ (past passive participle)

• शतमम्: a hundred
• शतमम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक; संख्या)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (hundred)

• गारगर्तायाः: of Gāragartā
• गारगर्तायाः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गारगर्ता (प्रातिपदिक; नदी/स्थाननाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठीविभक्ति; एकवचन

• सङ्गमे: at the confluence
• सङ्गमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सङ्गम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमीविभक्ति; एकवचन

• मुनि-सत्तमाः: O best of sages
• मुनि-सत्तमाः: Sambodhana/Addressed (Vocative sense/सम्बोधनार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मुनीनाम् सत्तमाः)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aśoka-vanikā tīrtha; Gāragartā-saṅgama

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: muni-sattamāḥ (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lush aśoka grove with flowering trees and a small shrine; pilgrims and sages performing ācamana; then a nearby tributary meeting the main river where a small group of munis indicates the sangama point.

Characters & Entities

• Aśoka-vanikā
• Gāragartā-saṅgama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Natural sacred spaces—groves and river confluences—are treated as consecrated fields where dharma and pilgrimage merit multiply.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Aśoka-vanikā (Aśoka grove tīrtha) and the Gāragartā-saṅgama (confluence) are highlighted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse conveys sanctity through the established number of tīrthas at each location.