Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

शिरस्तु तदवस्थं हि समग्रं तत्र संस्थितम् । जालिगुल्मावलग्नं च तस्या नैवापतज्जले

Transliteration

śirastu tadavasthaṃ hi samagraṃ tatra saṃsthitam | jāligulmāvalagnaṃ ca tasyā naivāpatajjale

Translation

Mais sa tête resta là, intacte. Retenue par l'enchevêtrement des filets, elle ne tomba point dans l'eau.

Word by Word

• śiraḥ: the head
• śiraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• tu: however
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• tadavastham: in that condition
• tadavastham: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tadavastha (प्रातिपदिक) = tad + avastha
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषणम्; समासः कर्मधारयः (tādṛśam avastham)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/हेतुबोधक-अव्यय (particle: indeed/for)

• samagram: entire, intact
• samagram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samagra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषणम्

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• saṃsthitam: was situated/remaining
• saṃsthitam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + स्था (धातु) → saṃsthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषणम्

• jāligulmāvalagnam: stuck to nets and thickets
• jāligulmāvalagnam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāligulmāvalagna (प्रातिपदिक) = jāli + gulma + avalagna
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषणम्; समासः तत्पुरुषः (jāli-gulmeṣu avalagnam)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (singular); सर्वनाम

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle: indeed/just)

• apatat: fell
• apatat: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + पत् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपदम्; धातुः आ+पत् (to fall down)

• jale: into the water
• jale: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śanidarśa (shoreline locus at Mahī–Sāgara Saṅgama)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the shore near the confluence, a severed head remains intact, lodged in a tangle of fishing nets and coastal shrubs; the waterline glints nearby, but the head is held back, creating a tense, uncanny stillness.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The narrative builds toward the idea of ‘tīrtha-prabhāva’—events unfold in unusual ways around sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Contextually the Mahī–Sāgara-saṅgama region (Śanidarśa) described in the surrounding verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive.