Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

ममापि करसंलग्नं कपालं ब्रह्मणः पुरा । पतितं तीर्थसंसर्गात्तेषां चैवावगाहनात्

Transliteration

mamāpi karasaṃlagnaṃ kapālaṃ brahmaṇaḥ purā | patitaṃ tīrthasaṃsargātteṣāṃ caivāvagāhanāt

Translation

Einst fiel sogar der Schädel Brahmās, der an meiner Hand festhing, ab—durch die Berührung mit einem Tīrtha und durch das Baden und Untertauchen dort.

Word by Word

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अस्मद्-प्रत्यय (1st person pronoun)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि (also/even)

• kara-saṃlagnam: clinging to the hand
• kara-saṃlagnam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃlagna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √lag)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying kapālam); भूतकृदन्त (PPP)

• kapālam: skull
• kapālam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahmā
• brahmaṇaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• purā: formerly
• purā: Sambandha (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालार्थक-अव्यय (formerly/once)

• patitam: fallen (off/away)
• patitam: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: patita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √pat)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP)

• tīrtha-saṃsargāt: from contact with the sacred place
• tīrtha-saṃsargāt: Apādāna (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• avagāhanāt: from bathing/immersion
• avagāhanāt: Apādāna (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avagāhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva stands at a sacred water’s edge; a skull clings to his palm. As he touches/immerses, the skull drops away into the water, which shines; attendants and Devī witness the moment of ‘kapāla-mokṣa’.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (implied by ‘mama’)
• Brahmā
• kapāla
• tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrthas are validated through divine precedent: even Śiva’s burden is resolved through tīrtha-contact, magnifying their sanctifying authority.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse does not name the particular tīrtha; it uses a well-known Śaiva motif (kapāla falling away) to praise tīrtha efficacy generally.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Avagāhana (bathing/immersion) at a tīrtha, along with tīrtha-saṃsarga (contact/visitation).