Vamana Purana — Glory of Prithudaka Tirtha, Shloka 3

The Glory of Prithudaka Tirtha and the Akshaya Tithi at Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

तं गच्छध्वं सुरश्रेष्ठा यत्र प्राची सरस्वती पितॄन् आराधयध्वं हि तत्र श्राद्धेन भक्तिततः

Transliteration

taṃ gacchadhvaṃ suraśreṣṭhā yatra prācī sarasvatī pitṝn ārādhayadhvaṃ hi tatra śrāddhena bhaktitataḥ

Translation

“诸天中最胜者啊，你们当往彼处去，即那向东流的萨拉斯瓦蒂河所在之地。在那里，确当以虔敬行施罗陀（śrāddha）之礼，奉祀诸祖灵（Pitṛs）。”

Word by Word

• तम्: him/that (object)
• तम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (कर्म), एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• गच्छध्वम्: go (you all)
• गच्छध्वम्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकारः (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुषः, बहुवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्

• सुरश्रेष्ठाः: O best of the gods
• सुरश्रेष्ठाः: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सुराणां श्रेष्ठाः)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-सम्बन्धबोधक (relative adverb: where)

• प्राची: eastern / flowing eastward
• प्राची: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राची (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī (river)
• सरस्वती: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• पितॄन्: the ancestors
• पितॄन्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• आराधयध्वम्: worship/propitiate (you all)
• आराधयध्वम्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-राध् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकारः (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुषः, बहुवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (emphatic/causal particle)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (there)

• श्राद्धेन: by/with śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (करण), एकवचनम्

• भक्तिततः: with devotion / devoutly
• भक्तिततः: Hetu/Mode (हेतु/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भक्ति + ततस् (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययार्थ)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (in a devotional manner / from devotion)

Speakers

• Narrative voice within the Pulastya–Nārada frame (instruction directed to the Devas
• contextually following a prior counsel)

Primary Deities

• Pitṛs
• Sarasvatī

Key Themes

• Tīrtha-māhātmya
• Śrāddha / Pitṛ-yajña
• Bhakti
• Sacred Geography

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Reverence to ancestors (pitṛ-r̥ṇa) is treated as a dharmic obligation; sacred places amplify the efficacy of rites, but devotion (bhakti) remains the essential inner qualification.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

Primarily within Vamśānucarita/Ācāra-oriented material as embedded tīrtha-māhātmya: it is not cosmogenesis (sarga) but dharma/ritual instruction framed in a pilgrimage narrative.

What is the symbolic significance?

Sarasvatī signifies purifying sacred speech/knowledge and continuity of tradition; śrāddha at a tīrtha symbolizes harmonizing personal devotion with transgenerational duty.