Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

ततः पश्चात्सरित्स्नानं चकार ऋषिसत्तमः । जाह्नवी गौतमी रेवा यमुनाप्राक्सरस्वती

Transliteration

tataḥ paścātsaritsnānaṃ cakāra ṛṣisattamaḥ | jāhnavī gautamī revā yamunāprāksarasvatī

Translation

随后，这位最胜仙人于诸河中行沐浴之仪：阇诃那毗（恒河）、高多弥、勒瓦（讷尔默达）、亚穆那，以及古老的萨拉斯瓦蒂。

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रम/कालवाचक (adverb: then/thereafter)

• पश्चात्: afterwards
• पश्चात्: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पश्चात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, काल/क्रमवाचक (afterwards)

• सरित्स्नानम्: river-bathing
• सरित्स्नानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक) + स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (bath in a river)

• चकार: did, performed
• चकार: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• ऋषिसत्तमः: the best of sages
• ऋषिसत्तमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (best of sages)

• जाह्नवी: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• जाह्नवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाह्नवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन (नदीनाम)

• गौतमी: Gautamī (Godāvarī)
• गौतमी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौतमी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन (नदीनाम)

• रेवा: Revā (Narmadā)
• रेवा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रेवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन (नदीनाम)

• यमुना: Yamunā
• यमुना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यमुना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन (नदीनाम)

• प्राक्: eastward/earlier
• प्राक्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्राक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देशवाचक (adverb: in the east/earlier)

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī
• सरस्वती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन (नदीनाम)

Speaker

Prahlāda (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā-kṣetra (with pan-river invocation)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis at Naimiṣāraṇya (typical frame; not explicit here)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A venerable ṛṣi performs snāna in succession, while the personified rivers—Gaṅgā, Godāvarī, Narmadā, Yamunā, and Sarasvatī—appear as divine women with their emblems, all oriented toward the distant golden city of Dvārakā.

Characters & Entities

• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• Gautamī (Godāvarī)
• Revā (Narmadā)
• Yamunā
• Sarasvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification through tīrtha-snāna is upheld as a dharmic support for pilgrimage—outer cleansing aligned with inner devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse glorifies major river-tīrthas: Gaṅgā (Jāhnavī), Godāvarī (Gautamī), Narmadā (Revā), Yamunā, and Sarasvatī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sarit-snāna—ritual bathing in sacred rivers—is explicitly mentioned.