Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

पातालजाह्नवीतोयं यत्रैवास्ति द्विजोत्तम । उद्धृते शंभुना लिंगे विनिष्क्रांतं रसातलात्

Transliteration

pātālajāhnavītoyaṃ yatraivāsti dvijottama | uddhṛte śaṃbhunā liṃge viniṣkrāṃtaṃ rasātalāt

Translation

Ô le meilleur des deux-fois-nés, l’eau appelée « Pātāla-Jāhnavī » se trouve précisément là. Lorsque Śambhu releva le liṅga, cette eau jaillit de Rasātala.

Word by Word

• पातालजाह्नवीतोयम्: the water of the Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) in Pātāla
• पातालजाह्नवीतोयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक) + जाह्नवी (प्रातिपदिक) + तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (पाताले या जाह्नवी, तस्याः तोयम् / पाताल-सम्बद्धं जाह्नवी-जलम्)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: स्थानवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• अस्ति: exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (Existence/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• द्विजोत्तम: O best of twice-born
• द्विजोत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (उत्तमः द्विजः)

• उद्धृते: when (it was) lifted up
• उद्धृते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हृ (धातु) (उद्-उपसर्ग)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘उद्धृत’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• शंभुना: by Śambhu (Śiva)
• शंभुना: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• लिङ्गे: in/with the liṅga
• लिङ्गे: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी-आश्रय

• विनिष्क्रान्तम्: came forth / emerged
• विनिष्क्रान्तम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्रम् (धातु) (वि-निस्-उपसर्ग)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle) ‘विनिष्क्रान्त’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘to have come out’

• रसातलात्: from Rasātala (nether region)
• रसातलात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रसातल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pātāla-Jāhnavī

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-uttama (best of twice-born)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śambhu lifts a liṅga upward; from beneath, a luminous stream bursts forth—blue-white like Gaṅgā—emerging from a subterranean realm with nāgas and jeweled rocks, forming the ‘Pātāla-Jāhnavī’ at the kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Pātāla-Jāhnavī
• Śambhu (Śiva)
• liṅga
• Rasātala

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred waters are portrayed as manifestations of Śiva’s act, making bathing there a direct encounter with purifying divine power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Pātāla-Jāhnavī waters associated with Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, mythically linked to Rasātala.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse prepares for the rite of bathing (snāna) in the Pātāla-Jāhnavī waters.