Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

यत्रयत्र महत्तीर्थं तत्रतत्र गता द्विजाः । उद्वसं तत्पुरं जातं तस्मिन्काले नृपोत्तम

Transliteration

yatrayatra mahattīrthaṃ tatratatra gatā dvijāḥ | udvasaṃ tatpuraṃ jātaṃ tasminkāle nṛpottama

Translation

ที่ใดมีมหาตีรถะ ที่นั่นเหล่าทวิชะก็ไป; และในกาลนั้น ข้าแต่มหาราชผู้ประเสริฐ นครนั้นก็กลายเป็นเมืองร้าง

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/relative adverb)

• यत्र: wherever
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (पुनरुक्ति: distributive)

• महत्: great
• महत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् तीर्थम् प्रति

• तीर्थम्: sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• तीर्थम्: Adhikaraṇa (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/adverb of place)

• तत्र: in each such place
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (पुनरुक्ति: distributive)

• गताः: went
• गताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• द्विजाः: Brahmins
• द्विजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• उद्वसम्: desolate, deserted (state)
• उद्वसम्: Pradhāna (Predicate nominal/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उद्वस (प्रातिपदिक; नपुंसक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भाववाचक (state of desolation)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् पुरम् प्रति

• पुरम्: city
• पुरम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• जातम्: became
• जातम्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) + क्त (भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; पुरम् इति कर्तरि

• तस्मिन्: at that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• काले: time
• काले: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• नृपोत्तम: O best of kings
• नृपोत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृपोत्तम (प्रातिपदिक: नृप + उत्तम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; addressing a king—listener not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahā-tīrthas (generic)

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpoत्तम (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmins traveling with bundles and waterpots toward distant river fords and shrines; behind them, an empty city with closed doors and silent streets; the king is addressed as witness to the desolation.

Characters & Entities

• Dwijas (Brāhmaṇas)
• Mahattīrtha (great tīrtha)
• Nṛpottama (best of kings—unnamed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Great tīrthas serve as refuges for dharma-bearers; when a place loses safety for worship, its prosperity and sanctity-in-practice diminish.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya is the narrative center, while “great tīrthas” are invoked as the wider sacred geography to which the dvijas resort.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it explains relocation toward tīrthas as a response to sustained vighna.