Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

प्रथमं तीर्थराजं तु प्रयागाख्यं सुविश्रुतम् । कामिकं सर्वतीर्थानां धर्मकामार्थमोक्षदम्

Transliteration

prathamaṃ tīrtharājaṃ tu prayāgākhyaṃ suviśrutam | kāmikaṃ sarvatīrthānāṃ dharmakāmārthamokṣadam

Translation

ประการแรกคือพระราชาแห่งทีรถะ อันเลื่องลือชื่อว่า ‘ประยาคะ’ เป็นที่ปรารถนายิ่งในบรรดาสถานศักดิ์สิทธิ์ทั้งปวง ประทานธรรมะ กามะ อรรถะ และโมกษะ

Word by Word

• प्रथमम्: first; firstly
• प्रथमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रथम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (firstly) / अथवा ‘तीर्थराजम्’ विशेषणम्

• तीर्थराजम्: the king of tīrthas
• तीर्थराजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (तीर्थानां राजा = king of pilgrim-places)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (but/indeed)

• प्रयागाख्यम्: called Prayāga
• प्रयागाख्यम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रयाग (प्रातिपदिक) + आख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (प्रयाग इति आख्या यस्य = named Prayāga)

• सुविश्रुतम्: very famous
• सुविश्रुतम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + विश्रुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (well-known)

• कामिकम्: wish-fulfilling
• कामिकम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कामिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (desire-fulfilling/pleasing)

• सर्वतीर्थानाम्: of all tīrthas
• सर्वतीर्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (सर्वाणि तीर्थानि)

• धर्मकामार्थमोक्षदम्: granting dharma, kāma, artha, and mokṣa
• धर्मकामार्थमोक्षदम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + काम (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्व (धर्म-काम-अर्थ-मोक्ष) + उपपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘दम्’ (ददाति इति/दायकम्) = giving the four aims

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prayāga

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Same interlocutor (often Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous river-confluence scene with pilgrims bathing at the Triveṇī; the narrator crowns Prayāga as tīrtha-rāja, symbolically placing a royal diadem over the saṅgama.

Characters & Entities

• Prayāga
• Tīrtharāja
• Dharma
• Kāma
• Artha
• Mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Among pilgrimage places, Prayāga is celebrated as supreme, capable of fulfilling all four puruṣārthas culminating in mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prayāga (modern Prayagraj), acclaimed as the ‘king of tīrthas’.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; the verse emphasizes the spiritual fruits traditionally obtained through pilgrimage and observances at Prayāga.