Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 99

Devanagari script

यः शत्रोः स्नानजं तोयं गृहीत्वा चाथ कर्दमम् । शिवनिर्माल्यसंयुक्तं जुह्वयिष्यति पावके

Transliteration

yaḥ śatroḥ snānajaṃ toyaṃ gṛhītvā cātha kardamam | śivanirmālyasaṃyuktaṃ juhvayiṣyati pāvake

Translation

Quiconque prend l’eau du bain de l’ennemi, avec de la boue, et l’offre dans le feu sacré mêlée au nirmālya de Śiva (les restes consacrés du culte), pourra, par ce rite, dompter cet ennemi.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम

• śatroḥ: of the enemy
• śatroḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śatru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन

• snānajam: produced from bathing
• snānajam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: snānaja (प्रातिपदिक: स्नान + ज)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (स्नानात् जातम् = born from bathing)

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

• gṛhītvā: having taken
• gṛhītvā: Kriya (क्रिया; पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √grah (ग्रह् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि; ‘गृहीत्वा’ = having taken

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

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (sequence marker: ‘then/thereupon’)

• kardamam: mud/sludge
• kardamam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kardama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• śiva: Śiva
• śiva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-सम्बन्धे (in compound: ‘of Śiva’)

• nirmālya: remnants of offerings
• nirmālya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirmālya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; ‘निर्माल्य’ = used offerings/remnants (in compound)

• saṃyuktam: mixed/combined (with)
• saṃyuktam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃyukta (प्रातिपदिक; √yuj + sam + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समासे प्रयोगः: śiva-nirmālya-saṃyukta = ‘connected with Śiva’s nirmālya’

• juhvayiṣyati: will offer (into fire)
• juhvayiṣyati: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √hu (हु धातु) + ṇic (causative) → juhvayati; future
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिजन्त (causative)

• pāvake: in the fire
• pāvake: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāvaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from immediate narrative context; followed by Phalavatī’s speech and later Sūta’s narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A small homa-kuṇḍa blazes; a practitioner pours a mixture (water and mud) while holding a bundle of Śiva-nirmālya (flowers/bilva remnants) over the fire; the scene is set near a Śiva shrine, emphasizing sacred remnants and flame.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Agni (pāvaka)
• nirmālya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It presents a powerful (and ethically charged) ritual use of sanctified Śaiva remnants, underscoring the Purāṇic idea that consecrated substances carry transformative potency when used in prescribed rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 144), continuing a local tīrtha-glorification narrative; the precise place-name is not stated in this single verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A homa: offering into fire bath-water and mud connected to the enemy, mixed with Śiva’s nirmālya.