Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

कालिंदी चैव कावेरी नर्मदा मणिकर्णिका । अन्यानि यानि तीर्थानि नद्यः पुण्या महीतले

Transliteration

kāliṃdī caiva kāverī narmadā maṇikarṇikā | anyāni yāni tīrthāni nadyaḥ puṇyā mahītale

Translation

അതുപോലെ കാലിന്ദി (യമുന), കാവേരി, നർമദ, മണികർണിക, ഭൂമിയിലെ മറ്റു തീർത്ഥങ്ങളും പുണ്യനദികളും—(ഇതിനോട് തുല്യമല്ല).

Word by Word

• कालिन्दी: Kalindi (Yamuna)
• कालिन्दी: Karta (Subject; listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालिन्दी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Conjunction
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; समुच्चयार्थक-निपातः (Conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधारण-निपातः (Emphatic particle)

• कावेरी: Kaveri
• कावेरी: Karta (Subject; listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कावेरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• नर्मदा: Narmada
• नर्मदा: Karta (Subject; listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• मणिकर्णिका: Manikarnika (sacred place/ghat)
• मणिकर्णिका: Karta (Subject; listed item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणि + कर्णिका (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम् (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मणेः कर्णिका)

• अन्यानि: other
• अन्यानि: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• यानि: which
• यानि: Visheshana (Relative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-शब्दः; नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचनम् (Plural); सम्बन्धबोधक (relative)

• तीर्थानि: pilgrimage places
• तीर्थानि: Karta/Karma (listed items)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• नद्यः: rivers
• नद्यः: Karta (Subject; listed items)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• पुण्याः: holy/meritorious
• पुण्याः: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• महीतले: on the surface of the earth
• महीतले: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही + तल (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (7th/Locative), एकवचनम् (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (महेः तलम्)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (contextual deduction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharma-tīrtha (implied as the referent)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied continuation to sages/brāhmaṇas addressed in surrounding verses

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A panoramic ‘map’ painting: river landscapes (Yamunā’s banks, Kāverī’s lush groves, Narmadā’s rocky ghāṭs) and Kāśī’s Maṇikarṇikā ghāṭa with funeral pyres, all visually subordinated to a radiant southern sea-ford labeled as the supreme tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Kāliṇdī (Yamunā)
• Kāverī
• Narmadā
• Maṇikarṇikā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic praise often magnifies a focal pilgrimage-site by placing it beyond comparison with even the most revered rivers and tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Setu tīrtha context continues; the verse lists other holy rivers/tīrthas to underscore Setu’s superiority.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a catalog-style encomium supporting the Setu Māhātmya.