Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

कथं गंगा च यमुना तथा देवी सरस्वती । अन्यान्यपि बहून्येव तीर्थानि वृषभध्वज

Transliteration

kathaṃ gaṃgā ca yamunā tathā devī sarasvatī | anyānyapi bahūnyeva tīrthāni vṛṣabhadhvaja

Translation

ข้าแต่พระผู้ทรงธงวัว! เหตุไฉนพระคงคาและพระยมุนา ทั้งเทวีสรัสวตีจึงมาประดิษฐาน ณ ที่นี้? และเหตุใดจึงมีตถาคตแห่งทีรถะศักดิ์สิทธิ์อื่น ๆ มากมายนักด้วยเล่า?

Word by Word

• katham: how
• katham: Prashna (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रश्नार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (how)

• gaṃgā: Gaṅgā
• gaṃgā: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṃgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• yamunā: Yamunā
• yamunā: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yamunā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थक (so/likewise)

• devī: the goddess
• devī: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• sarasvatī: Sarasvatī
• sarasvatī: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative, Singular)

• anyāni: other
• anyāni: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय/अपि-भाव (also/even)

• bahūni: many
• bahūni: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारणार्थक (emphatic: indeed/only)

• tīrthāni: pilgrimage places
• tīrthāni: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Neuter, Nom/Acc, Plural)

• vṛṣabhadhvaja: O bull-bannered one (Śiva)
• vṛṣabhadhvaja: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक) + dhvaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular); समासः वृषभः ध्वजः यस्य सः (बहुव्रीहि)

Speaker

Pārvatī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (contextual: Saṃgāleśvara-sannidhi introduced next)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vṛṣabhadhvaja (Śiva)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee addresses Vṛṣabhadhvaja (Śiva), asking how Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī and countless tīrthas are present in Prabhāsa; the landscape hints at hidden rivers and luminous tīrtha-forms.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Yamunā
• Sarasvatī
• Śiva (Vṛṣabhadhvaja)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇic vision treats sacred rivers and tīrthas as spiritually present beyond physical geography, by divine ordinance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra as a locus where famed river-tīrthas are mystically gathered.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is an inquiry about the presence of rivers and tīrthas.