Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

द्यां त्वमालिख्य इत्येव प्रोक्त्वा मंत्रं च याजुषम् प्राक्षिपच्छांतिकं तोयं तस्य मूर्धनि सत्वरम्

Transliteration

dyāṃ tvamālikhya ityeva proktvā maṃtraṃ ca yājuṣam prākṣipacchāṃtikaṃ toyaṃ tasya mūrdhani satvaram

Translation

وبعد أن تلا تعويذة اليجورفيدا التي تبتدئ بـ«اكتب السماء…»، سكب سريعًا ماء السَّكينة والتطهير على هامته.

Word by Word

• dyām: the sky
• dyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘द्याम्’ = heaven/sky

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Implied subject of command)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ālikhya: having drawn
• ālikhya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-likh (धातु) + ल्यप्
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्यय अव्ययकृदन्त: ‘आलिख्य’ = having drawn/written

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्धरण/quotative particle)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चय/एव = just/indeed)

• proktvā: having spoken
• proktvā: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-vac (धातु) + त्वा
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त: ‘प्रोक्त्वा’ = having uttered/said

• mantram: mantra
• mantram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (and)

• yājuṣam: Yajurvedic
• yājuṣam: Karma (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yājuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘मन्त्रं’ = relating to Yajus (Yajurvedic)

• prākṣipat: sprinkled/threw
• prākṣipat: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-kṣip (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘प्राक्षिपत्’ = threw/sprinkled

• śāṃtikam: consecrated/propitiatory
• śāṃtikam: Karma (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāṃtika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘तोयम्’

• toyam: water
• toyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: toya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• mūrdhani: on the head
• mūrdhani: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrdhan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• satvaram: quickly
• satvaram: Kriya-vishesana (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): ‘सत्वरम्’ = quickly/hastily

Speaker

Narrator (exact named speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The brāhmaṇa utters a Yajurvedic mantra (opening ‘dyāṃ tvam ālikhya…’) and swiftly pours/casts the pacificatory water onto the king’s head, contradicting the king’s order; the moment freezes in astonishment.

Characters & Entities

• Yajurveda (yājuṣa mantra)
• Pacification water (śāṃtika toya)
• Head (mūrdhan)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred speech (mantra) joined with rite (water offering) manifests tangible results, illustrating the Purāṇic view of mantra-śakti.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it highlights mantra-and-water ritual dynamics within a Māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Recitation of a Yajurvedic mantra and the immediate application of śāṃtika water upon the head.