Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

मस्तके च तथाकाशं भूमौ च नवधा क्षिपेत् । भूमिशब्देन चरणावाकाशं हृदयं स्मृतम् । शिरस्येव शिरःशब्दो मार्जनं तैरुदाहृतम्

Transliteration

mastake ca tathākāśaṃ bhūmau ca navadhā kṣipet | bhūmiśabdena caraṇāvākāśaṃ hṛdayaṃ smṛtam | śirasyeva śiraḥśabdo mārjanaṃ tairudāhṛtam

Translation

അതുപോലെ മസ്തകത്തിൽ ‘ആകാശം’യും ഭൂമിയിൽ ‘ഭൂമി’യും ഒൻപതു വിധമായി വിന്യസിക്കണം. ‘ഭൂമി’ എന്ന പദം പാദങ്ങളെ, ‘ആകാശം’ ഹൃദയത്തെ, ‘ശിരഃ’ തലത്തെയേ സൂചിപ്പിക്കുന്നു—ഇങ്ങനെ മാർജനത്തിന്റെ അർത്ഥം വ്യാഖ്യാനിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• mastake: on the crown (of the head)
• mastake: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mastaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारार्थक (likewise)

• ākāśam: the sky (gesture)
• ākāśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; (क्षिपेत्) कर्म

• bhūmau: on the ground
• bhūmau: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• navadhā: ninefold / nine times
• navadhā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: navadhā (अव्यय; नवन्+धा)
• Form: अव्यय; संख्याप्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (in nine ways/times)

• kṣipet: should throw/place
• kṣipet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṣip (क्षिप् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• bhūmi-śabdena: by the word ‘bhūmi’
• bhūmi-śabdena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + śabda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: भूमेः शब्दः; करण (by the word ‘bhūmi’)

• caraṇau: the two feet
• caraṇau: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), द्विवचन; अत्र निर्दिष्टार्थे (the feet)

• ākāśam: ‘ākāśa’ (here)
• ākāśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; अत्र ‘हृदयम्’ इति व्याख्येयार्थ

• hṛdayam: the heart
• hṛdayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛdaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; व्याख्येय (meant as)

• smṛtam: is considered/remembered as
• smṛtam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (स्मृ धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (is understood/considered)

• śirasi: on the head
• śirasi: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (indeed/only)

• śiraḥ-śabdaḥ: the word ‘śiras’
• śiraḥ-śabdaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक) + śabda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: शिरसः शब्दः (the word ‘śiras’)

• mārjanam: cleansing/sprinkling
• mārjanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; व्याख्येयार्थ (as mārjana)

• taiḥ: by those (terms)
• taiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; करण (by them/thereby)

• udāhṛtam: is declared
• udāhṛtam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud + ā + hṛ (हृ धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (is stated/declared)

Speaker

Unspecified (Dharmāraṇyakhaṇḍa ritual instruction; explanatory gloss)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Navadhā-mārjana (ninefold sprinkling)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Diagrammatic yet devotional scene: the practitioner with highlighted feet, heart, and crown; labels ‘bhūmi/ākāśa/śiras’ as subtle calligraphy; water droplets touching these loci in sequence.

Characters & Entities

• Mārjana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sandhyā purification is both physical and symbolic, mapping ‘earth/sky/head’ to feet/heart/head to sanctify the whole person.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is praised; the focus is the correct understanding of mārjana symbolism.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform the ninefold mārjana placements and understand the intended correspondences: bhūmi = feet, ākāśa = heart, śiras = head.