Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

अगस्त्यतीर्थतीरे तं सपुत्रमृषि सत्तमम् । ददर्श राजा स्वनयो ब्रह्माणमिव देवराट्

Transliteration

agastyatīrthatīre taṃ saputramṛṣi sattamam | dadarśa rājā svanayo brahmāṇamiva devarāṭ

Translation

ณ ฝั่งอคัสตยะ-ตีรถะ พระราชาสวานยะได้ทอดพระเนตรฤๅษีผู้ประเสริฐนั้นพร้อมบุตร—ดุจท้าวอินทร์ จอมเทพ ได้เฝ้าทอดพระเนตรพระพรหม

Word by Word

• agastya-tīrtha-tīre: on the bank of Agastya’s sacred ford
• agastya-tīrtha-tīre: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agastya (अगस्त्य) + tīrtha (तीर्थ) + tīra (तीर)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष/अधिकरण: ‘अगस्त्यतीर्थस्य तीरे’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग-समासान्त, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• sa-putram: together with (his) son
• sa-putram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (सह/स- उपसर्गसदृश) + putra (पुत्र)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सह-तत्पुरुष: ‘पुत्रेण सह’), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ṛṣi-sattamam: the best of sages
• ṛṣi-sattamam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (ऋषि) + sattama (सत्तम)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘सत्तमः ऋषिः’), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• dadarśa: saw
• dadarśa: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• rājā: the king
• rājā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (राजन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• svanayaḥ: Svanaya
• svanayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svanaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (apposition to rājā)

• brahmāṇam: Brahmā
• brahmāṇam: Upamāna (उपमान-सम्बन्धे)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (ब्रह्मन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• iva: like/as
• iva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमार्थक (particle of comparison)

• deva-rāṭ: king of the gods (Indra)
• deva-rāṭ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (देव) + rāṭ (राट्)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘देवानां राट्’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (within Sūta’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Agastya-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At Agastya-tīrtha’s bank, King Svānaya beholds the great sage Dīrghatamas with his son; the king’s awe is likened to Indra seeing Brahmā—radiant spiritual majesty meeting royal reverence.

Characters & Entities

• Agastya-tīrtha
• Svānaya
• Indra (Devarāṭ)
• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Darśana of a realized sage at a tīrtha is portrayed as supremely auspicious—comparable to divine vision in the heavenly realm.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Agastya-tīrtha is directly glorified, especially its tīra (sacred bank).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse emphasizes the sanctity of the place and the spiritual fortune of encountering a great ṛṣi there.