Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

ऋषयस्तत्र तिष्ठंति यत्र प्राची सरस्वती । ब्रह्महत्या गता यत्र शंकरस्य च तत्क्षणात्

Transliteration

ṛṣayastatra tiṣṭhaṃti yatra prācī sarasvatī | brahmahatyā gatā yatra śaṃkarasya ca tatkṣaṇāt

Translation

رِشی عین اسی جگہ ٹھہرتے ہیں جہاں مشرق رُخ بہنے والی سرسوتی ہے۔ وہیں اسی لمحے شنکر پر سے برہماہتیا کا پاپ دور ہو گیا۔

Word by Word

• ऋषयः: sages
• ऋषयः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: ‘there’)

• तिष्ठन्ति: stand/abide
• तिष्ठन्ति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• प्राची: eastern (flowing eastward)
• प्राची: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राची (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifier)

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī (river/goddess)
• सरस्वती: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• ब्रह्महत्या: the sin of brahmin-slaying
• ब्रह्महत्या: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + हत्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative: ‘killing of a brāhmaṇa/Brahman’)

• गता: went away/was removed
• गता: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग (gone/removed)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्ध/देशवाचक (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• शंकरस्य: of Śaṅkara
• शंकरस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction: ‘and’)

• तत्क्षणात्: immediately
• तत्क्षणात्: Kaaladhikarana (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत् + क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; पञ्चमी-अर्थे अव्यय (ablatival adverb: ‘immediately/from that moment’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prācī Sarasvatī (near Brahmakuṇḍa)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva at the riverbank of the prācī Sarasvatī: the moment of purification—dark stain of sin dissolving into light; sages witnessing; the river glowing eastward; a sense of sudden release and radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis
• Sarasvatī
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Brahmahatyā
• Prabhāsakṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supremely sanctified tīrtha is depicted as a place of immediate pāpa-kṣaya, validating pilgrimage as a means of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Sarasvatī-associated locale in Prabhāsakṣetra (linked with Brahmakuṇḍa in the surrounding verses).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, tīrtha-sevā (pilgrimage/approach) for purification; no explicit act is named in this verse.