Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

द्यां त्वमालिख्य इत्येव प्रोक्त्वा मंत्रं च याजुषम् प्राक्षिपच्छांतिकं तोयं तस्य मूर्धनि सत्वरम्

Transliteration

dyāṃ tvamālikhya ityeva proktvā maṃtraṃ ca yājuṣam prākṣipacchāṃtikaṃ toyaṃ tasya mūrdhani satvaram

Translation

Après avoir récité le mantra du Yajurveda commençant par : « Tu inscriras le ciel… », il répandit aussitôt l’eau pacificatrice sur le sommet de sa tête.

Word by Word

• dyām: the sky
• dyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘द्याम्’ = heaven/sky

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Implied subject of command)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ālikhya: having drawn
• ālikhya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-likh (धातु) + ल्यप्
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्यय अव्ययकृदन्त: ‘आलिख्य’ = having drawn/written

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्धरण/quotative particle)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चय/एव = just/indeed)

• proktvā: having spoken
• proktvā: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-vac (धातु) + त्वा
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त: ‘प्रोक्त्वा’ = having uttered/said

• mantram: mantra
• mantram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

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

• yājuṣam: Yajurvedic
• yājuṣam: Karma (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yājuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘मन्त्रं’ = relating to Yajus (Yajurvedic)

• prākṣipat: sprinkled/threw
• prākṣipat: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-kṣip (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘प्राक्षिपत्’ = threw/sprinkled

• śāṃtikam: consecrated/propitiatory
• śāṃtikam: Karma (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāṃtika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘तोयम्’

• toyam: water
• toyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: toya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• mūrdhani: on the head
• mūrdhani: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrdhan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• satvaram: quickly
• satvaram: Kriya-vishesana (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): ‘सत्वरम्’ = quickly/hastily

Speaker

Narrator (exact named speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The brāhmaṇa utters a Yajurvedic mantra (opening ‘dyāṃ tvam ālikhya…’) and swiftly pours/casts the pacificatory water onto the king’s head, contradicting the king’s order; the moment freezes in astonishment.

Characters & Entities

• Yajurveda (yājuṣa mantra)
• Pacification water (śāṃtika toya)
• Head (mūrdhan)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred speech (mantra) joined with rite (water offering) manifests tangible results, illustrating the Purāṇic view of mantra-śakti.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it highlights mantra-and-water ritual dynamics within a Māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Recitation of a Yajurvedic mantra and the immediate application of śāṃtika water upon the head.