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

Autrefois, même le crâne de Brahmā qui était resté attaché à ma main tomba—par le contact avec un tīrtha et par le bain ou l’immersion en ce lieu.

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).