Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्नृपश्रेष्ठ तीर्थं त्रैलोक्यविश्रुतम् । अंबरीषस्य राजर्षेरैशान्यां पापनाशनम्

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca | tato gacchennṛpaśreṣṭha tīrthaṃ trailokyaviśrutam | aṃbarīṣasya rājarṣeraiśānyāṃ pāpanāśanam

Translation

پُلستیہ نے کہا: اے بادشاہوں میں افضل! پھر اس تیرتھ کی طرف جانا چاہیے جو تینوں لوکوں میں مشہور ہے—راجَرشی امبریش کا—جو شمال مشرقی سمت میں واقع ہے اور گناہوں کو مٹانے والا ہے۔

Word by Word

• pulastyaḥ: Pulastya
• pulastyaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Masculine, Nom., Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (Perfect, 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada)

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequencer/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय; tad-ablatival)
• Form: क्रम/हेत्वर्थक-अव्यय (adverb: then/thereafter)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Injunctive action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (Optative, 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada)

• nṛpaśreṣṭha: O best of kings
• nṛpaśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular)

• tīrtham: to a sacred ford (tīrtha)
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• trailokya-viśrutam: renowned in the three worlds
• trailokya-viśrutam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + viśruta (कृदन्त; vi-√śru (धातु))
• Form: भूतकृदन्ताधारित-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Acc., Singular); 'tīrtham' इति विशेषण

• aṃbarīṣasya: of Ambarīṣa
• aṃbarīṣasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṃbarīṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (Masculine, Genitive, Singular)

• rājarṣeḥ: of the royal sage
• rājarṣeḥ: Sambandha (Genitive apposition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (Masculine, Genitive, Singular)

• aiśānyām: in the north-east (direction)
• aiśānyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aiśānī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Feminine, Locative, Singular); दिक्-विशेषण (directional)

• pāpa-nāśanam: destroying sins
• pāpa-nāśanam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Acc., Singular); 'tīrtham' इति विशेषण

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ambārīṣa-tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpaśreṣṭha (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pulastya, radiant and composed, instructs a king on the next stop: a famed tīrtha in the north-east, marked by a small shrine and sacred water, with a sign of Ambārīṣa’s legacy (a royal emblem or ascetic staff).

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Ambārīṣa
• Tīrtha
• Aiśānya (north-east)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Seeking holy places with humility and purpose is a dharmic act; tīrthas are praised as instruments of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ambārīṣa’s tīrtha, renowned across the three worlds, situated in the north-eastern quarter within the Arbuda-khaṇḍa itinerary.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pilgrimage injunction: “one should go” (gacchet) to the Ambārīṣa tīrtha for sin-removal.