Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

यत्तन्महीसमुद्रस्य तटं शार्विकतीर्थकम् । तदाक्रम्य कृतं तेन मरुभूमिसमं प्रभोः

Transliteration

yattanmahīsamudrasya taṭaṃ śārvikatīrthakam | tadākramya kṛtaṃ tena marubhūmisamaṃ prabhoḥ

Translation

പ്രഭോ! മഹാസമുദ്രത്തിന്റെ തീരത്തിലുള്ള ‘ശാർവിക തീർത്ഥം’ അവൻ കാൽക്കീഴിൽ ചവിട്ടി മരുഭൂമിപോലെ ആക്കി മാറ്റി।

Word by Word

• yat: which (that)
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; यत्-प्रत्यय (relative)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• mahī-samudrasya: of the great sea / earth-ocean
• mahī-samudrasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक) + samudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महीसमुद्रः = पृथिव्याः समुद्रः/महान् समुद्रः)

• taṭam: shore, bank
• taṭam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• śārvika-tīrthakam: the Śārvika sacred ford/place
• śārvika-tīrthakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śārvika (प्रातिपदिक; śarva-संबन्धि) + tīrthaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (शार्विकं तीर्थकम्)

• tat: that (place)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ākramya: having overstepped/attacked
• ākramya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā+√kram (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• kṛtam: made, turned into
• kṛtam: Kriya (Result state/क्रिया-फल)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त; √kṛ (धातु) क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त

• tena: by him
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• maru-bhūmi-samam: like a desert
• maru-bhūmi-samam: Karma (Object complement/कर्म-प्रवचन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: maru-bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; उपमान-तत्पुरुष (मरुभूम्या समम्)

• prabhoḥ: of the Lord
• prabhoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

Speaker

Devas

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śārvika Tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Prabhu (the addressed lord)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A once-lush sacred sea-shore with shrines and pilgrims is shown crushed under an asura’s march; the land turns cracked and sandy, vegetation withers, and the tīrtha markers lie broken.

Characters & Entities

• Śārvika Tīrtha
• Mahīsamudra (great ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Desecration of sacred places signals adharma; protecting tīrthas is part of preserving dharma and the world’s spiritual ecology.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śārvika Tīrtha on the shore of the great ocean (mahīsamudra-taṭa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse highlights a tīrtha’s violation, implying the need for its protection/restoration.