Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 126

Devanagari script

महीपर्णा महीशृंगा गंगा पश्चिमवाहिनी । नदी राजनदी चेति नामाष्टाशमालिकाम्

Transliteration

mahīparṇā mahīśṛṃgā gaṃgā paścimavāhinī | nadī rājanadī ceti nāmāṣṭāśamālikām

Translation

മഹീപർണാ, മഹീശൃംഗാ, ഗംഗാ, പശ്ചിമവാഹിനീ, നദി, രാജനദി—ഇങ്ങനെ പാവന നാമങ്ങളുടെ മാലിക എൺപത്തെട്ട് നാമങ്ങൾ വരെ തുടരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• महीपर्णा: Mahīparṇā (name)
• महीपर्णा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (नाम); बहुव्रीहिः (महीवद् पर्णानि यस्याः सा)

• महीशृंगा: Mahīśṛṅgā (name)
• महीशृंगा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक) + शृङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (नाम); बहुव्रीहिः (महीवद् शृङ्गाणि यस्याः सा)

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (नाम)

• पश्चिमवाहिनी: west-flowing
• पश्चिमवाहिनी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पश्चिम (प्रातिपदिक) + वाहिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (पश्चिमं वहति इति)

• नदी: river
• नदी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• राजनदी: Rājanadī (royal river; name)
• राजनदी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक) + नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (नाम); कर्मधारयः (राजा इव नदी)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• इति: thus (named)
• इति: Sambandha (Marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• नाम: names
• नाम: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• अष्टाशमालिकाम्: the garland of eight directions (eightfold list)
• अष्टाशमालिकाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्ट (प्रातिपदिक) + आश (प्रातिपदिक) + मालिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (अष्टौ आशाः यस्यां सा)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahī (Aṣṭāśīti-nāma-mālā: 88 names)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrims/householders

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A flowing scroll of names continues: Mahīparṇā, Mahīśṛṅgā, Gaṅgā, Paścimavāhinī, Nadī, Rājanadī—each name appearing as a symbolic vignette (leafy banks for Mahīparṇā, peaked hills for Mahīśṛṅgā, Gaṅgā iconography, westward arrow for Paścimavāhinī, crown motif for Rājanadī).

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Mahī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha can be approached through nāma-smaraṇa (name-remembrance), which concentrates devotion and ritual power.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

Mahī river and its tīrtha-complex, via an 88-name hymn-list.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse frames an 88-name recitation (nāma-mālā) to be used in ritual timings such as snāna and śrāddha.