Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

मुक्तेर्निदानममलं शालिग्रामगतं हरिम् । हृदि न्यस्य सदा भक्त्या यो ध्यायति स मुक्तिभाक्

Transliteration

mukternidānamamalaṃ śāligrāmagataṃ harim | hṛdi nyasya sadā bhaktyā yo dhyāyati sa muktibhāk

Translation

Ia yang dengan bhakti senantiasa menempatkan Hari yang bersemayam dalam Śāligrāma—yang suci dan menjadi sebab mokṣa—di dalam hati, lalu bermeditasi kepada-Nya, menjadi penerima pembebasan.

Word by Word

• mukteḥ: of liberation
• mukteḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• nidānam: cause, source
• nidānam: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nidāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• amalam: pure, stainless
• amalam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (nidānam इति विशेष्य)

• śāligrāmagatam: present in Śāligram
• śāligrāmagatam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāligrāma + gata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); समासः—शालिग्रामे गतः (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष)

• harim: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• harim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• hṛdi: in the heart
• hṛdi: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛd (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• nyasya: having placed
• nyasya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ni + as (अस् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund) ‘न्यस्य’ = निधाय/स्थापयित्वा

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kala-adhikarana (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: नित्यत्ववाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• dhyāyati: meditates on
• dhyāyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhyai (ध्यै धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• muktibhāk: one who attains liberation
• muktibhāk: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukti + bhāj (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘भाक्/भाज्’ = भागी (possessor); समासः—मुक्तेः भाक् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śāligrāma-Hari (as liberative focus)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A meditator sits before a small Śāligrāma shrine; a luminous form of Hari is envisioned within the heart, depicted as a subtle glow or tiny Nārāyaṇa seated on a lotus inside the chest.

Characters & Entities

• Mukti (Mokṣa)
• Śāligrāma
• Hari (Viṣṇu)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Inner devotion (hṛdaya-sthāpana) and meditation on Hari identified with Śāligrāma leads to mokṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śāligrāma is glorified as a sacred presence of Hari; the emphasis is on the devotional locus (Śāligrāma) more than a named town or riverbank.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bhakti-yukta dhyāna: enshrine Hari-in-Śāligrāma in the heart and meditate constantly.