Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

कालिंदी चैव कावेरी नर्मदा मणिकर्णिका । अन्यानि यानि तीर्थानि नद्यः पुण्या महीतले

Transliteration

kāliṃdī caiva kāverī narmadā maṇikarṇikā | anyāni yāni tīrthāni nadyaḥ puṇyā mahītale

Translation

Ebenso Kāliṇdī (Yamunā), Kāverī, Narmadā, Maṇikarṇikā und welche anderen Tīrthas und heiligen Flüsse es auch auf Erden geben mag—keines ist diesem gleich.

Word by Word

• कालिन्दी: Kalindi (Yamuna)
• कालिन्दी: Karta (Subject; listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालिन्दी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Conjunction
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः (Conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारण-निपातः (Emphatic particle)

• कावेरी: Kaveri
• कावेरी: Karta (Subject; listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कावेरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• नर्मदा: Narmada
• नर्मदा: Karta (Subject; listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• मणिकर्णिका: Manikarnika (sacred place/ghat)
• मणिकर्णिका: Karta (Subject; listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणि + कर्णिका (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम् (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मणेः कर्णिका)

• अन्यानि: other
• अन्यानि: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• यानि: which
• यानि: Visheshana (Relative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-शब्दः; नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचनम् (Plural); सम्बन्धबोधक (relative)

• तीर्थानि: pilgrimage places
• तीर्थानि: Karta/Karma (listed items)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• नद्यः: rivers
• नद्यः: Karta (Subject; listed items)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• पुण्याः: holy/meritorious
• पुण्याः: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• महीतले: on the surface of the earth
• महीतले: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही + तल (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (7th/Locative), एकवचनम् (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (महेः तलम्)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (contextual deduction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharma-tīrtha (implied as the referent)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied continuation to sages/brāhmaṇas addressed in surrounding verses

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic ‘map’ painting: river landscapes (Yamunā’s banks, Kāverī’s lush groves, Narmadā’s rocky ghāṭs) and Kāśī’s Maṇikarṇikā ghāṭa with funeral pyres, all visually subordinated to a radiant southern sea-ford labeled as the supreme tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Kāliṇdī (Yamunā)
• Kāverī
• Narmadā
• Maṇikarṇikā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic praise often magnifies a focal pilgrimage-site by placing it beyond comparison with even the most revered rivers and tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Setu tīrtha context continues; the verse lists other holy rivers/tīrthas to underscore Setu’s superiority.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a catalog-style encomium supporting the Setu Māhātmya.