Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

तेन संस्थापितो यत्र शिखरे शंकरः स्वयम् । शिखरं तत्सलिंगं च पतितं वारिधेर्जले

Transliteration

tena saṃsthāpito yatra śikhare śaṃkaraḥ svayam | śikharaṃ tatsaliṃgaṃ ca patitaṃ vāridherjale

Translation

Dort, wo er selbst Śaṅkara auf einem Gipfel errichtet hatte, stürzten sowohl jener Gipfel als auch der darauf befindliche Liṅga in die Wasser des Ozeans.

Word by Word

• tena: by him/with that
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental), एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• saṃsthāpitaḥ: was स्थापित/installed
• saṃsthāpitaḥ: Kriya (Participial predicate/कृदन्त-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

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

• śikhare: on the peak
• śikhare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śikhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• śaṃkaraḥ: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• śaṃkaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• svayam: himself
• svayam: Visheshana (Emphatic qualifier/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: स्वयम्-शब्दः (indeclinable: emphatic ‘himself’)

• śikharam: the peak
• śikharam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śikhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (context: subject of patitam)

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; निर्देश-विशेषणम्

• saliṃgam: together with the liṅga
• saliṃgam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (सह/सम्; उपसर्गार्थ ‘with’) + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘sa-’ उपसर्गार्थक-पूर्वपद (with) + liṅga = ‘with the liṅga’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्ययम्

• patitam: fallen
• patitam: Kriya (Participial predicate/कृदन्त-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विधेय-विशेषणम् (predicate)

• vāridheḥ: of the ocean
• vāridheḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāridhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• jale: in water
• jale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Narrator (unidentified)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Samudra-antarhita Śiva-liṅga tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A rocky peak crowned with a Śiva-liṅga collapses or sinks; waves engulf the summit as the liṅga disappears into the ocean depths.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Liṅga
• Ocean (Vāridhi)
• Śrī Rāma (implied by ‘tena’)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha’s sanctity is tied to Śiva’s presence and Rāma’s devotion, showing how bhakti and sacred installation consecrate geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rāmeśvara/Setu region (Setu-madhya) within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse alludes to liṅga-saṃsthāpana (installation), but does not give procedural ritual details.