Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

रामनाथं महादेवं नत्वा भक्तिपुरःसरम् । विमुक्तपातको विप्राः प्रययौ पितुराश्रमम्

Transliteration

rāmanāthaṃ mahādevaṃ natvā bhaktipuraḥsaram | vimuktapātako viprāḥ prayayau piturāśramam

Translation

ഹേ വിപ്രന്മാരേ! ഭക്തിയെ മുൻനിർത്തി രാമനാഥ മഹാദേവനെ നമസ്കരിച്ചു, പാപമുക്തനായി അവൻ പിതാവിന്റെ ആശ്രമത്തിലേക്ക് പുറപ്പെട്ടു.

Word by Word

• रामनाथम्: Rāma’s lord (Rāmanātha)
• रामनाथम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रामनाथ (प्रातिपदिक) = राम + नाथ
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (रामस्य नाथः)

• महादेवम्: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• महादेवम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेव (प्रातिपदिक) = महा + देव
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान् देवः)

• नत्वा: having bowed
• नत्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘having bowed’

• भक्तिपुरःसरम्: preceded by devotion; with devotion foremost
• भक्तिपुरःसरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भक्तिपुरःसर (प्रातिपदिक) = भक्ति + पुरःसर
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (भक्त्या पुरःसरः)

• विमुक्तपातकः: freed from sin
• विमुक्तपातकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विमुक्तपातक (प्रातिपदिक) = विमुक्त + पातक
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (विमुक्तं पातकं यस्य/विमुक्तः पातकात्)

• विप्राः: O brāhmaṇas
• विप्राः: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative-like address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• प्रययौ: went forth; departed
• प्रययौ: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + या (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• पितुः: of (his) father
• पितुः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• आश्रमम्: hermitage
• आश्रमम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (implied Purāṇic narrator within Setukhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rāmanātha (Rāmeśvara)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas / sages (viprāḥ, munipuṅgavāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-sage bows with folded hands before the Rāmanātha liṅga in a coastal temple; lamps glow, conch sounds, and the sea-breeze suggests Setu’s shore; the pilgrim then turns toward a forest hermitage path.

Characters & Entities

• Rāmanātha
• Mahādeva (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion (bhakti) expressed through reverent bowing to Śiva becomes a doorway to purification and a dharmic return to one’s duties.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rāmanātha at Rāmeśvaram (Setukhaṇḍa’s sacred landscape connected with Setu).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Namaskāra—bowing to Mahādeva with devotion (implied as a purifying act within the tīrtha context).