Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच । गंगाधरं ततो गच्छेत्सुपुण्यं विमलोदकम् । येन गंगा धृता राजन्निपतन्ती नभस्तलात्

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca | gaṃgādharaṃ tato gacchetsupuṇyaṃ vimalodakam | yena gaṃgā dhṛtā rājannipatantī nabhastalāt

Translation

ปุลัสตยะกล่าวว่า: “แล้วพึงไปยังคงคาธระ ผู้มีสายน้ำบริสุทธิ์และเปี่ยมบุญยิ่ง; ข้าแต่พระราชา ผู้นั้นเองทรงรองรับพระคงคาเมื่อหลั่งลงจากฟากฟ้า”

Word by Word

• पुलस्त्यः: Pulastya
• पुलस्त्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुलस्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• गंगाधरम्: Gaṅgādhara (Śiva / the holder of Gaṅgā)
• गंगाधरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः; 'गङ्गां धरतीति' (उपपद-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारयप्राय); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• ततः: then
• ततः: Apadana/Sequence (Source/क्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/ततः—क्रमवाचक/अपादानार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (then/from there)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; विध्यर्थः (should go)

• सुपुण्यम्: very meritorious
• सुपुण्यम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समासः (सु + पुण्य); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; (विमलोदकम् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• विमलोदकम्: pure water (place/stream of pure water)
• विमलोदकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विमल (प्रातिपदिक) + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समासः (विमलम् उदकम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करणार्थक सम्बन्ध (by which/through which)

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• धृता: was held/sustained
• धृता: Kriya/Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √धृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (गङ्गा इत्यस्य विशेषणम्/विधेय)

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• निपतन्ती: falling down
• निपतन्ती: Karta (Agent as participle/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + √पत् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (गङ्गा इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)

• नभस्तलात्: from the surface of the sky
• नभस्तलात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नभस् (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः; 'नभसः तलम्' (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgādhara Tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (unnamed in the excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pulastya instructs the king to proceed to Gaṅgādhara Tīrtha; the celestial Gaṅgā is shown descending from the sky while a divine bearer ‘holds’ her, sanctifying a clear pool at a mountain tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Gaṅgādhara
• Gaṅgā
• rājan (king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is anchored in sacred myth: the tīrtha is holy because it embodies divine acts (the holding of Gaṅgā).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgādhara (a tīrtha associated with ‘the holder of Gaṅgā’).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A yātrā instruction: ‘one should go’ (gacchet) to the Gaṅgādhara tīrtha; bathing/other rites are not specified in this verse.