Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

गौतमः श्रद्धया भक्त्या गंगामौलिमखंडधीः । तदाऽभून्महदाश्चर्यं शृण्वंतु ऋषयोऽमलाः

Transliteration

gautamaḥ śraddhayā bhaktyā gaṃgāmaulimakhaṃḍadhīḥ | tadā'bhūnmahadāścaryaṃ śṛṇvaṃtu ṛṣayo'malāḥ

Translation

گوتَم—جس کی عقل ثابت قدم تھی—گنگا کو مَول پر دھارنے والے پروردگار کی عقیدت و بھکتی سے بندگی کرتا رہا۔ تب ایک عظیم عجوبہ ظاہر ہوا؛ اے پاکیزہ رشیو! سنو۔

Word by Word

• गौतमः: Gautama
• गौतमः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौतम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• श्रद्धया: with faith
• श्रद्धया: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रद्धा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• गङ्गा-मौलि-मखण्ड-धीः: (he) whose intellect was fixed on Gaṅgā and the crest (of Śiva)
• गङ्गा-मौलि-मखण्ड-धीः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + मौलि (प्रातिपदिक) + मखण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + धी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष-प्रधान): ‘गङ्गा-मौलि’ (गङ्गा यस्य मौलौ/मौलिः) इत्यर्थे, ‘मखण्ड-धी’ (मखण्डे धीर्यस्य) इत्यर्थे

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• अभूत: there occurred / happened
• अभूत: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ्-लकार (Aorist/Past), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• महत्: great
• महत्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier of ‘आश्चर्यम्’)

• आश्चर्यम्: a wonder
• आश्चर्यम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्चर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• शृण्वन्तु: let (them) hear
• शृण्वन्तु: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• ऋषयः: sages
• ऋषयः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अमलाः: pure
• अमलाः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifier of ‘ऋषयः’)

Speaker

Narrative voice (continuing Prahlāda’s narration)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ṛṣayaḥ (assembled sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gautama, steadfast and devotional, stands or sits in meditation before an unseen Śiva; a ‘great wonder’ begins—light, celestial signs, or a subtle manifestation—while the narrator calls the ‘stainless sages’ to listen.

Characters & Entities

• Gautama
• Śiva (Gaṅgā-mauli)
• Rishis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast faith (śraddhā) and devotion (bhakti) attract divine intervention and open the way for revelation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate verse foreshadows a revelation; the larger passage proceeds toward the sacred geography of Dvārakā and its environs.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed; the emphasis is on śraddhā-bhakti as the inner discipline preceding divine communication.