Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

अहो तीर्थप्रभावोऽयमपूर्वः प्रतिभाति मे । यत्र संजायते गर्भः स्त्रीणां शुक्ररजोविना

Transliteration

aho tīrthaprabhāvo'yamapūrvaḥ pratibhāti me | yatra saṃjāyate garbhaḥ strīṇāṃ śukrarajovinā

Translation

โอ้! อานุภาพแห่งตถาคตสถานศักดิ์สิทธิ์นี้ปรากฏแก่ข้าว่าไม่เคยมีมาก่อน—ณ ที่นี้ สตรีทั้งหลายย่อมบังเกิดครรภ์ได้ แม้มิได้มีน้ำเชื้อและโลหิตระดู

Word by Word

• अहो: ah! oh!
• अहो: Prayojaka (Exclamation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहो (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विस्मयादिबोधक interjection)

• तीर्थप्रभावः: the power of the sacred ford
• तीर्थप्रभावः: Kartṛ (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ-प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तीर्थ + प्रभाव (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘power of the tīrtha’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अयम्: this
• अयम्: Kartṛ (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘तीर्थप्रभावः’ विशेषण

• अपूर्वः: unprecedented; marvelous
• अपूर्वः: Kartṛ (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘तीर्थप्रभावः’ विशेषण

• प्रतिभाति: appears; seems
• प्रतिभाति: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-भा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मे: to me
• मे: Sampradāna (Experiencer/To)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी एकवचन (genitive/dative); ‘to me/for me’

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/Where)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्धबोधक-स्थानवाचक relative adverb: ‘where’)

• संजायते: is produced; arises
• संजायते: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• गर्भः: a fetus; pregnancy
• गर्भः: Kartṛ (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्त्रीणाम्: of women
• स्त्रीणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive: of women)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• शुक्ररजः: semen and menstrual blood
• शुक्ररजः: Sambandha (Excluded item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्र-रजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: शुक्र + रजस् (इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः: ‘semen and menses’); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-एकवचनार्थे (ablative sense with विना)

• विना: without
• विना: Sambandha (Without)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपपद), वियोग/अभाववाचक; पञ्चमी/द्वितीयासह प्रयोगः

Speaker

Gautamī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-tīrtha (as presented in Arbudakhaṇḍa)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wonder-struck speaker beholds a radiant tīrtha; women at the sacred waters, lotus-filled pool/riverbank, aura of divine intervention suggesting conception without ordinary means.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha (sacred ford/place)
• Gautamī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha is portrayed as a locus of divine potency where the ordinary limits of nature yield to sacred grace, inspiring reverence and faith.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda Khaṇḍa tīrtha being visited in this episode—praised for its extraordinary, wish-fulfilling power.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit injunction; the verse functions as a testimonial praising the tīrtha’s efficacy (implying the value of visiting and bathing/standing in its waters).