Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

ततः संकल्प्य सहसा तस्मिंस्तीर्थोत्तमोत्तमे । मनुष्यत्वनिवृत्त्यर्थं निममज्ज द्विजात्मजः

Transliteration

tataḥ saṃkalpya sahasā tasmiṃstīrthottamottame | manuṣyatvanivṛttyarthaṃ nimamajja dvijātmajaḥ

Translation

അനന്തരം ദ്വിജാത്മജൻ ഉടൻ സംकल्पം ചെയ്ത്, മനുഷ്യഭാവത്തിൽ നിന്നുപോലും മോചനം നേടുവാൻ, ആ ഉത്തമോത്തമ തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ മുങ്ങി.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Kala-adhikarana (Time/Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तस्मात्/अनन्तरम्) — Indeclinable adverb

• संकल्प्य: having resolved
• संकल्प्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्-कल्प् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (ल्यप्/क्त्वा-समकक्ष, अव्ययभाव) — Gerund ‘having resolved’

• सहसा: suddenly
• सहसा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहसा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (रीतिवाचक) — Adverb ‘suddenly/quickly’

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7/सप्तमी), एकवचन — Locative singular pronoun

• तीर्थोत्तमोत्तमे: in that best-of-the-best tīrtha
• तीर्थोत्तमोत्तमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7/सप्तमी), एकवचन — Locative singular; समासः (तीर्थेषु उत्तमः) + उत्तमोत्तम (अतिशय-उत्तम); विशेषणम् (तस्मिन्) / अधिकरणनिर्देश

• मनुष्यत्वनिवृत्त्यर्थम्: for the purpose of ending human-ness
• मनुष्यत्वनिवृत्त्यर्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्यत्व (प्रातिपदिक) + निवृत्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular used adverbially (purpose); समासः तत्पुरुष (मनुष्यत्वस्य निवृत्तिः तस्य अर्थः)

• निममज्ज: plunged/dove in
• निममज्ज: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि- मज्ज् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/परिपूर्णभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; उपसर्गः नि — Perfect 3rd person singular

• द्विजात्मजः: the Brahmin’s son
• द्विजात्मजः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (द्विजस्य आत्मजः)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (Setukhaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu-tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas/Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The restored brāhmaṇa’s son stands at the water’s edge, hands joined, making sankalpa; then he plunges into the radiant tīrtha with serene detachment, seeking freedom beyond ordinary life.

Characters & Entities

• Saṅkalpa
• Tīrtha
• Dvijātmaja

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

With saṅkalpa and tīrtha-snāna, the seeker turns even ordinary embodiment into a doorway toward liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha praised as “tīrthottamottama,” later named Vetāla-varadā near Cakratīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Saṅkalpa (formal resolve) followed by immersion/bathing (snāna) in the tīrtha.