Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

यत्र विष्णुपदी गंगा जंतूनां पापनाशिनी । स्वयं स्थिता नृपश्रेष्ठ तथा देवा हरादयः

Transliteration

yatra viṣṇupadī gaṃgā jaṃtūnāṃ pāpanāśinī | svayaṃ sthitā nṛpaśreṣṭha tathā devā harādayaḥ

Translation

اے بہترین بادشاہ! وہاں وِشنو کے قدم سے جاری ہونے والی وِشنوپدی گنگا خود بخود مقیم ہے، جو جانداروں کے گناہ ناپاکی کو مٹا دیتی ہے؛ اور وہیں ہَر (شیو) وغیرہ دیوتا بھی سکونت رکھتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• viṣṇu-padī: Viṣṇupadī (name/epithet)
• viṣṇu-padī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + padī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (viṣṇoḥ padī: ‘connected with Viṣṇu’s foot/step’)

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

• jantūnām: of creatures; of beings
• jantūnām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठī-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jantu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• pāpa-nāśinī: destroyer of sins
• pāpa-nāśinī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (pāpān nāśayati iti) विशेषण (gaṅgāyāḥ)

• svayam: by herself; personally
• svayam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: स्वार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic: oneself)

• sthitā: situated; present
• sthitā: Kriya-visheshana/Predicate adjective (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (gaṅgā)

• nṛpa-śreṣṭha: O best of kings
• nṛpa-śreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (nṛpāṇāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ)

• tathā: also; likewise
• tathā: Samuccaya/Upama (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (also; likewise)

• devāḥ: the gods
• devāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• hara-ādayaḥ: (gods) beginning with Hara (Śiva)
• hara-ādayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (haras ādiḥ yeṣām: ‘beginning with Hara’)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā at Camatkārapura

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpaśreṣṭha (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous Gaṅgā stream descends with a celestial aura labeled Viṣṇupadī; on the banks stand Śiva (Hara) with matted locks and other devas, while pilgrims bathe and offer arghya.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Viṣṇu
• Śiva (Hara)
• Devas
• Camatkārapura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supremely holy place is marked by self-manifest sacred waters and divine presence, making it a powerful means of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Camatkārapura-kṣetra, where the Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā is said to be present and the gods reside.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied tīrtha-snāna (bathing) in Gaṅgā for pāpa-kṣaya (destruction of sin), though not explicitly commanded.