Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

अथ भूमितलं भित्त्वा प्रादुर्भूता महानदी । तां शिलाममलैस्तोयैः क्षालयन्ती समंततः

Transliteration

atha bhūmitalaṃ bhittvā prādurbhūtā mahānadī | tāṃ śilāmamalaistoyaiḥ kṣālayantī samaṃtataḥ

Translation

Puis, fendant la surface de la terre, le grand fleuve se manifesta, lavant cette pierre de toutes parts avec des eaux sans tache.

Word by Word

• अथ: then, now
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (sequence/now-then)

• भूमितलम्: the surface of the earth
• भूमितलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भूमेः तलम्)

• भित्त्वा: having split/pierced
• भित्त्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भिद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having done)

• प्रादुर्भूता: appeared, manifested
• प्रादुर्भूता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रादुस् (अव्यय) + भू (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘appeared’

• महानदी: the great river
• महानदी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महती नदी)

• ताम्: that (her/it)
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• शिलाम्: stone, rock
• शिलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अमलैः: pure, spotless
• अमलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; विशेषण (तोयैः)

• तोयैः: with waters
• तोयैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन

• क्षालयन्ती: washing, cleansing
• क्षालयन्ती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षल् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि—‘washing’

• समन्ततः: on all sides, all around
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण-अर्थे)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-विशेषण (adverb)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator, likely Sūta) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarasvatī-prādurbhāva tīrtha (Brahma-śilā-sannidhi)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer (typical Nāgara-khaṇḍa interlocutor frame; exact names not in provided verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A great river bursts upward by splitting the earth; crystalline waters swirl around a central sacred rock, washing it on all sides; devas witness the emergence.

Characters & Entities

• Mahānadī (Great River)
• Śilā
• Sarasvatī (implied by prior verse)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine purity is established through sacred waters; cleansing signifies the consecration of the kṣetra and readiness for worship and pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha-system of Camatkārapura-kṣetra, where the great river manifests to sanctify the foundational śilā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied tīrtha-practice: purification through sacred water (snāna/cleansing), as the river’s pure waters consecrate the site.