Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

यथा चिंतामणिं स्पृष्ट्वा लोहं कांचनतां व्रजेत् । यथा जंबूनदीं प्राप्य मृत्तिका स्वर्णतां व्रजेत्

Transliteration

yathā ciṃtāmaṇiṃ spṛṣṭvā lohaṃ kāṃcanatāṃ vrajet | yathā jaṃbūnadīṃ prāpya mṛttikā svarṇatāṃ vrajet

Translation

ചിന്താമണിയെ സ്പർശിച്ചാൽ ഇരുമ്പ് സ്വർണ്ണമാകുന്നതുപോലെ, ജംബൂനദിയെ പ്രാപിച്ചാൽ മണ്ണും സ്വർണ്ണഭാവം കൈവരിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ।

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्ययम् (as/just as)

• चिन्तामणिम्: the wish-fulfilling gem
• चिन्तामणिम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिन्ता (प्रातिपदिक) + मणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः, पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• स्पृष्ट्वा: having touched
• स्पृष्ट्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √स्पृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययम् (absolutive/gerund)

• लोहम्: iron
• लोहम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• काञ्चनताम्: goldenness; state of gold
• काञ्चनताम्: Gati/Phala (Result/फल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काञ्चनता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• व्रजेत्: would go/attain
• व्रजेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √व्रज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (परस्मैपदम्), प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्ययम्

• जाम्बूनदीम्: Jāmbūnadī (gold/river-name; here ‘Jāmbūnada gold’)
• जाम्बूनदीम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाम्बूनदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• प्राप्य: having obtained/reached
• प्राप्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययम् (absolutive/gerund)

• मृत्तिका: clay
• मृत्तिका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्तिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• स्वर्णताम्: goldenness; state of gold
• स्वर्णताम्: Gati/Phala (Result/फल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्णता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• व्रजेत्: would go/attain
• व्रजेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √व्रज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (परस्मैपदम्), प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; specific speaker not stated in this excerpt)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāmbūnadī

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Metaphoric tableau: iron touching a radiant wish-gem turning to gold; clay entering a luminous river becoming golden—parallel to the rākṣasa’s transformation by yogin-contact.

Characters & Entities

• Cintāmaṇi
• Jāmbūnadī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contact with a supremely pure source can radically transform an impure nature—an analogy for saintly association.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Jāmbūnadī is invoked as a mythic sacred river-image; no local tīrtha is specified in this excerpt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an illustrative comparison (upamā) supporting the doctrine of purification.