Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

प्रणम्य तीर्थं चलितो महीसागरसंगमम् । वृद्धब्राह्मणरूपेण ततोहं यातवान्नृपम्

Transliteration

praṇamya tīrthaṃ calito mahīsāgarasaṃgamam | vṛddhabrāhmaṇarūpeṇa tatohaṃ yātavānnṛpam

Translation

เมื่อกราบนอบน้อมแด่ทีรถะแล้ว ข้าพเจ้าก็ออกเดินไปยังจุดบรรจบของแผ่นดินกับมหาสมุทร จากนั้นข้าพเจ้าจึงแปลงกายเป็นพราหมณ์ชรา แล้วไปเฝ้าพระราชา

Word by Word

• praṇamya: having bowed
• praṇamya: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra√nam (धातु) + lyap (ल्यप्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया

• tīrtham: sacred ford/place of pilgrimage
• tīrtham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• calitaḥ: departed, set out
• calitaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया; विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √cal (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘गतः/प्रस्थितः’

• mahī-sāgara-saṃgamam: confluence of land and ocean
• mahī-sāgara-saṃgamam: Karma (कर्म; गमन-लक्ष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक) + sāgara (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (महीसागरयोः संगमः)

• vṛddha-brāhmaṇa-rūpeṇa: in the form of an old brāhmaṇa
• vṛddha-brāhmaṇa-rūpeṇa: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛddha (प्रातिपदिक) + brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तृतीया-करणे; तत्पुरुषः (वृद्धब्राह्मणस्य रूपम्)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तदनन्तरं (sequence adverb)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• yātavān: went, proceeded
• yātavān: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु) + ktavatu (क्तवतु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्तवतु) परिप्रयोगे; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि ‘गतोऽस्मि’ (periphrastic perfect sense)

• nṛpam: to the king
• nṛpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahī–Sāgara-saṅgama

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king) is approached; earlier address to Pārtha continues as narrative frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim bows at a windswept shore where earth meets ocean; then the same figure appears as an aged brāhmaṇa walking toward a royal court in the distance.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha
• mahīsāgarasaṃgama
• brāhmaṇa
• nṛpati (king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

One should honor the tīrtha with reverence before undertaking dharmic action; sacred places sanctify the journey and its intent.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse highlights the mahīsāgarasaṃgama—an auspicious confluence of land and ocean—presented as a tīrtha worthy of reverent salutation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Praṇāma (bowing) to the tīrtha is explicitly mentioned as the preliminary act before proceeding.