Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्य उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्नृपश्रेष्ठ सुपूर्णं गौतमाश्रमम् । यत्र पूर्वं तपस्तप्तं गौतमेन महात्मना

Transliteration

pulastya uvāca | tato gacchennṛpaśreṣṭha supūrṇaṃ gautamāśramam | yatra pūrvaṃ tapastaptaṃ gautamena mahātmanā

Translation

Pulastya nói: “Rồi, hỡi bậc vương giả tối thượng, hãy đến đạo tràng (āśrama) của Gautama, nơi đầy đủ phúc duyên. Chính tại đó, thuở xưa, bậc hiền thánh đại tâm Gautama đã hành khổ hạnh (tapas).”

Word by Word

• pulastyaḥ: Pulastya
• pulastyaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालानन्तरवाचक (then)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम् (should go)

• nṛpaśreṣṭha: O best of kings
• nṛpaśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa-śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक; नृप + श्रेष्ठ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• supūrṇam: well-filled/abundant; prosperous
• supūrṇam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-pūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक; सु + पूर्ण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् आश्रमम्

• gautamāśramam: Gautama’s hermitage
• gautamāśramam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gautama-āśrama (प्रातिपदिक; गौतम + आश्रम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• pūrvam: formerly
• pūrvam: Kāla-adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (formerly/before)

• tapaḥ: austerity; penance
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्म-रूपेण

• taptam: performed; practiced
• taptam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tapta (कृदन्त; √tap/तप्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् तपः

• gautamena: by Gautama
• gautamena: Kartr-karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gautama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• mahātmanā: by the great-souled (sage)
• mahātmanā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā-ātman (प्रातिपदिक; महा + आत्मन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् गौतमेन

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gautamāśrama

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpaśreṣṭha (the king; in Skanda tīrtha dialogues often a royal interlocutor such as a Yādava/Avanti/Anarta king depending on section)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pulastya ṛṣi instructs a king on a forest path; in the distance, a serene hermitage with thatched huts, sacrificial fire, and a small waterbody signifying ‘supūrṇa’ (well-provisioned).

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Gautama
• Gautamāśrama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Seek sanctified places where great sages practiced tapas; such sites transmit spiritual potency to pilgrims.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gautamāśrama (the hermitage of Sage Gautama) in the Arbuda Khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pilgrimage directive—one is advised to go/visit the hermitage; no specific rite is detailed in this verse.