Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

स्वयं समुद्रतीर्णाय सेतुबंधनकारिणे

Transliteration

svayaṃ samudratīrṇāya setubaṃdhanakāriṇe

Translation

Salutations to the one who himself crossed the ocean, and who brought about the binding and building of the bridge (setu).

Word by Word

• स्वयम्: by oneself
• स्वयम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• समुद्रतीर्णाय: to the one who crossed the ocean
• समुद्रतीर्णाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + तॄ (धातु) → तीर्ण (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः—द्वितीया-तत्पुरुष (समुद्रं तीर्णः) + क्त (past participle)

• सेतुबंधनकारिणे: to the maker of the bridge-building
• सेतुबंधनकारिणे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेतु (प्रातिपदिक) + बन्धन (प्रातिपदिक) + कारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः—(सेतोः बन्धनं करोति इति) षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष + उपपद-तत्पुरुष (कारिन्)

Speaker

Brāhmaṇas (continuing the salutations; verse appears as a pāda/fragment)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setubandha / Rāma-setu (associated with Rāmeśvara kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Hanumān leaps over the roaring ocean; in a companion scene, the vānaras build the bridge with floating stones inscribed with Rāma’s name, under Hanumān’s guidance.

Characters & Entities

• Hanumān
• Ocean (samudra)
• Setu (bridge)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faithful service makes the impossible possible—devotion manifests as decisive action for a righteous cause.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse alludes to Setu (Rāma-setu) thematically, but does not explicitly present a tīrtha-māhātmya in this fragment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is praise of heroic, dharmic action.