Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । भूमिपाल ततो गच्छेत्तीर्थं परमशोभनम् । विख्यातं त्रिषु लोकेषु पित्ःणामृणमोचनम्

Transliteration

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | bhūmipāla tato gacchettīrthaṃ paramaśobhanam | vikhyātaṃ triṣu lokeṣu pitḥṇāmṛṇamocanam

Translation

شری مارکنڈےیہ نے کہا: اے محافظِ زمین! پھر آدمی کو اُس نہایت حسین تیرتھ کی طرف جانا چاہیے جو تینوں لوکوں میں مشہور ہے اور آباؤ اجداد کے قرض سے نجات دیتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: the venerable Mārkaṇḍeya
• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री-मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक; श्री + मार्कण्डेय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; संबोधन-पूर्वक वक्तृ-निर्देश

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

• भूमिपाल: O king (protector of the earth)
• भूमिपाल: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि-पाल (प्रातिपदिक; भूमि + पाल)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; राजन्-सम्बोधन

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः—क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तीर्थम्: to a sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• परमशोभनम्: most splendid
• परमशोभनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम-शोभन (प्रातिपदिक; परम + शोभन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying तीर्थम्)

• विख्यातम्: well-known
• विख्यातम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-ख्यात (कृदन्त; ख्या धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (तीर्थम्)

• त्रिषु: in the three
• त्रिषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक-विशेषणम् (लॊकेषु)

• लोकेषु: worlds
• लोकेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• ऋणमोचनम्: (a place) that releases from debt
• ऋणमोचनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋण-मोचन (प्रातिपदिक; ऋण + मोचन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तीर्थस्य विशेषणरूपेण (appositional noun)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pitṛṇām-ṛṇa-mocana tīrtha (epithet; specific name not given here)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (भूमिपाल / नृप; addressed as protector of earth)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya addressing a king, pointing toward a radiant river-tīrtha; pilgrims with waterpots and offerings; the tīrtha depicted as luminous and world-renowned.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• King (bhūmipāla)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Pitṛ-ṛṇa (ancestral debt)
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is also a form of pitṛ-dharma: sacred travel can aid in fulfilling obligations to one’s ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A tīrtha famed as “Pitṝṇām ṛṇa-mocanam” (the place that frees one from ancestral debt) within the Revā-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A directive to go (gacchet) to the specified tīrtha; implied pitṛ-related rites may follow in subsequent verses.