Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

रामनाथस्य माहात्म्यं मत्सेतोरपि वैभवम् । नाहं वर्णयितुं शक्तो वर्षकोटिशतैरपि

Transliteration

rāmanāthasya māhātmyaṃ matsetorapi vaibhavam | nāhaṃ varṇayituṃ śakto varṣakoṭiśatairapi

Translation

രാമനാഥന്റെ മഹിമയും എന്റെ രാമസേതുവിന്റെ വൈഭവവും—കോടിക്കണക്കിന് വർഷങ്ങളായാലും ഞാൻ അതിനെ വർണ്ണിക്കാൻ ശേഷിയില്ല.

Word by Word

• रामनाथस्य: of Rāmanātha (Lord of Rāma)
• रामनाथस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रामनाथ (प्रातिपदिक) = राम + नाथ
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): ‘रामस्य नाथः’

• माहात्म्यम्: greatness, glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• मत्सेतोः: of my bridge (Setu)
• मत्सेतोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत्सेतु (प्रातिपदिक) = मत् + सेतु
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी): ‘मम सेतुः’

• अपि: also, even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle) = ‘also/even’

• वैभवम्: splendour, grandeur
• वैभवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैभव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• वर्णयितुम्: to describe
• वर्णयितुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वर्णय् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive/तुमन्त), ‘वर्णयितुम्’ = to describe

• शक्तः: able
• शक्तः: Karta (Predicate adjective of subject/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्त (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-विशेषण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle) ‘शक्’ अर्थे ‘able’

• वर्षकोटिशतैः: by hundreds of crores of years
• वर्षकोटिशतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्षकोटिशत (प्रातिपदिक) = वर्ष + कोटि + शत
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (संख्यावाचक-समाहार): ‘वर्षाणां कोटि-शतानि’

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/also)

Speaker

Rāma (deduced from immediate context: next verse says 'rāmasya vacanam')

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rāmanātha–Setu (Setubandha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience within the Purāṇic frame (typically sages/Śaunaka-group or a king; not explicit here).

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred seashore with the Setu stretching across the ocean; Rāmanātha shrine aura implied; the speaker confesses inability to fully praise the site, suggesting vastness and divine radiance over waves and stones.

Characters & Entities

• Rāmanātha
• Rāmasetu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The holiness of a true tīrtha and its presiding deity is immeasurable; reverence exceeds the limits of speech and time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rāmanātha (Rāmeśvaram) and Rāmasetu (Setubandha) in the Setukhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; it establishes the boundless māhātmya that underlies later prescriptions like darśana and snāna.