Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

नालिकेरजलैः स्नानं रामनाथमहेश्वरे । ब्रह्महत्यादिपापानां नाशनं परिकीर्तितम्

Transliteration

nālikerajalaiḥ snānaṃ rāmanāthamaheśvare | brahmahatyādipāpānāṃ nāśanaṃ parikīrtitam

Translation

Il est proclamé que baigner Rāmanātha Maheśvara avec l’eau de coco détruit les péchés tels que la brahmahatyā (le meurtre d’un brāhmane) et autres.

Word by Word

• नालिकेर: coconut
• नालिकेर: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नालिकेर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे पूर्वपद (समासाङ्ग), एकवचन (stem-form in compound)

• जलैः: with waters
• जलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• स्नानम्: bathing
• स्नानम्: Karta (Topic/विषय-कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (वाक्यविषय)

• रामनाथ: Rāmanātha
• रामनाथ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम (प्रातिपदिक) + नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (रामस्य नाथः), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-समासाङ्ग (next compound), एकवचन (stem-form)

• महेश्वरे: in (the shrine of) Maheśvara
• महेश्वरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समास (रामनाथः महेश्वरः), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• ब्रह्महत्या: brahmin-slaying (sin)
• ब्रह्महत्या: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + हत्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्मणः हत्या), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-समासाङ्ग (next compound), एकवचन (stem-form)

• आदि: and the like
• आदि: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आदि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/समाहारार्थ), ‘etc.’-अर्थे; समासाङ्ग

• पापानाम्: of sins
• पापानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (ब्रह्महत्या-आदि-पाप), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• नाशनम्: destruction
• नाशनम्: Karta (Predicate nominal/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/विधेय), एकवचन

• परिकीर्तितम्: is declared
• परिकीर्तितम्: Kriya (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-कीर्त् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘is proclaimed/declared’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rāmanātha (Rāmeśvara)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa audience (vocative/implicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee pours clear coconut water from a green-brown coconut vessel over the liṅga; white streams contrast with the dark stone; priests hold a cloth and a bell; the atmosphere is penitential yet hopeful, with subdued lamps and folded hands.

Characters & Entities

• Rāmanātha
• Maheśvara
• Brahmahatyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha’s Śiva-liṅga worship is presented as a powerful means of prāyaścitta (expiation) for grave transgressions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rāmanātha Maheśvara at Setu (Rāmeśvaram).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Abhiṣeka of Rāmanātha Maheśvara with coconut water (nālikera-jala).