Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

सुप्रतिष्ठितशंखस्य तीर्थैः पंचामृतैरपि । अभिषिच्य महादेवं रुद्रसूक्तैः समाहितः

Transliteration

supratiṣṭhitaśaṃkhasya tīrthaiḥ paṃcāmṛtairapi | abhiṣicya mahādevaṃ rudrasūktaiḥ samāhitaḥ

Translation

聖なるティールタ（tīrtha）の水と五甘露（pañcāmṛta）とを、よく安置された法螺貝より注ぎ、マハーデーヴァ（Mahādeva）に灌頂沐浴（abhiṣeka）を行うべきである。ルドラ・スークタ（Rudra-sūkta）を誦しつつ、心を一境に保て。

Word by Word

• सुप्रतिष्ठित-शङ्खस्य: of the well-placed conch
• सुप्रतिष्ठित-शङ्खस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु (अव्यय) + प्रतिष्ठित (कृदन्त) + शङ्ख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Genitive singular; ‘of the well-established conch’

• तीर्थैः: with sacred waters
• तीर्थैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural (with sacred waters)

• पञ्च-अमृतैः: with the five-nectar mixture
• पञ्च-अमृतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + अमृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural; ‘five nectars’ (pañcāmṛta)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — particle (also/even)

• अभिषिच्य: having anointed (bathed)
• अभिषिच्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि + सिच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘having anointed/bathed’

• महादेवम्: Mahādeva
• महादेवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महā (प्रातिपदिक) + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Accusative singular; ‘Mahādeva’

• रुद्र-सूक्तैः: with Rudra hymns
• रुद्र-सूक्तैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक) + सूक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन — Instrumental plural; ‘with Rudra-hymns’

• समाहितः: being composed/attentive
• समाहितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + धा (धातु) → समाहित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Nominative singular; ‘collected/attentive’ (of the worshipper)

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator/teacher within Brahmottarakhaṇḍa ritual instruction)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A priest holds a conch above the liṅga; streams of water and creamy pañcāmṛta cascade; assistants hold vessels labeled as tīrtha-jala; a reciter chants Rudra-sūkta with closed eyes; droplets sparkle in lamplight.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva
• Rudra-sūkta
• Śaṅkha (conch)
• Tīrtha
• Pañcāmṛta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual purity and focused recitation transform worship into inner concentration—devotion expressed through disciplined sacred action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A general reference to tīrtha-waters is made, but no specific pilgrimage site is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform Śiva abhiṣeka using tīrtha-water and pañcāmṛta through a properly placed conch, while chanting Rudra-sūktas with concentration.