Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

जलदिव्यं तथा प्राहुर्द्विप्रकारं पुराविदः । जलहस्तं स्मृतं चैकं मज्जनं चापरं विदुः

Transliteration

jaladivyaṃ tathā prāhurdviprakāraṃ purāvidaḥ | jalahastaṃ smṛtaṃ caikaṃ majjanaṃ cāparaṃ viduḥ

Translation

प्राचीन मनीषियों ने ‘जल-दिव्य’ को दो प्रकार का कहा है—एक ‘जलहस्त’ (जल में हाथ की परीक्षा) और दूसरा ‘मज्जन’ (जल में डुबोने की परीक्षा)।

Word by Word

• jaladivyam: the water-ordeal (divine test by water)
• jaladivyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक) + divya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः (जलम् एव दिव्यम्)

• tathā: thus
• tathā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: 'thus/so')

• prāhuḥ: they said/declare
• prāhuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√ah (अह्/ब्रू धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्सभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• dviprakāram: of two kinds
• dviprakāram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (प्रातिपदिक) + prakāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः (द्वौ प्रकारौ यस्य)

• purāvidaḥ: knowers of old tradition/ancients
• purāvidaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + vid (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/उपपदसमासः (पुरा विदन्ति इति)

• jalahastam: the 'water-hand' type (a kind of water ordeal)
• jalahastam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक) + hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जलस्य हस्तः/जलहस्तम्)

• smṛtam: is called/considered
• smṛtam: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √smṛ (स्मृ धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थकं (called/considered)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• ekam: one
• ekam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• majjanaṃ: immersion/dunking (as ordeal)
• majjanaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: majjana (प्रातिपदिक; from √majj 'to immerse')
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• aparam: the other
• aparam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• viduḥ: they know/recognize
• viduḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (विद् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्सभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), by Mahēśvarakhaṇḍa context

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn riverside or temple-tank setting where elders/ṛtviks explain two forms of water-ordeal: a symbolic ‘water-hand’ test and a full submersion test, with witnesses and ritual implements nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Bhaṭṭāditya (implied context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is preserved through inherited procedure; even ordeals are systematized into recognized types rather than ad hoc trials.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The water-ordeal teaching appears within the Bhaṭṭāditya-sthala narrative frame of this adhyāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The water ordeal is defined as twofold: jala-hasta (water-hand) and majjana (submersion).