Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मलोकं तदा कृत्स्नं प्लावयित्वा जलं हि तत् । शुद्धस्फटिकसंकाशं कुन्देन्दुसदृशद्युति । मत्स्यकच्छपसंकीर्णं ग्राहयूथैः समाकुलम्

Transliteration

brahmalokaṃ tadā kṛtsnaṃ plāvayitvā jalaṃ hi tat | śuddhasphaṭikasaṃkāśaṃ kundendusadṛśadyuti | matsyakacchapasaṃkīrṇaṃ grāhayūthaiḥ samākulam

Translation

ആ ജലം അപ്പോൾ സമസ്ത ബ്രഹ്മലോകത്തെയും പ്ലാവിതമാക്കി. അത് ശുദ്ധസ്ഫടികംപോലെ ദീപ്തവും കുന്ദപുഷ്പവും ചന്ദ്രനുംപോലെ കാന്തിയുള്ളതും; മത്സ്യങ്ങളും കച്ഛപങ്ങളും നിറഞ്ഞതും ഗ്രാഹങ്ങളുടെ കൂട്ടങ്ങളാൽ കുലുങ്ങുന്നതുമായിരുന്നു।

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मलोकम्: the world of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मलोकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; ब्रह्मणः लोकम्

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kriya-vishesana (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• कृत्स्नम्: entire, whole
• कृत्स्नम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत्स्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘ब्रह्मलोकम्’ इति विशेषणम्

• प्लावयित्वा: having flooded
• प्लावयित्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्लु (धातु) → प्लावयति (णिच्) → प्लावयित्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive): having flooded

• जलम्: the water
• जलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis/indeed)

• तत्: that (water)
• तत्: Anuvada (Referent/निर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘जलम्’ इत्यस्य पुनरुक्ति/निर्देश

• शुद्धस्फटिकसंकाशम्: like pure crystal
• शुद्धस्फटिकसंकाशम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुद्ध + स्फटिक + संकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘जलम्’ इति विशेषणम्; शुद्धस्य स्फटिकस्य इव संकाशः

• कुन्देन्दुसदृशद्युति: having a radiance like jasmine and the moon
• कुन्देन्दुसदृशद्युति: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुन्द + इन्दु + सदृश + द्युति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (बहुधा ‘-द्युति’ स्त्री); ‘जलम्’ इत्यर्थे द्युतिविशेषणम्; कुन्द-इन्दुवत् सदृशी द्युतिः यस्य

• मत्स्यकच्छपसंकीर्णम्: filled with fish and tortoises
• मत्स्यकच्छपसंकीर्णम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मत्स्य + कच्छप + संकीर्ण (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) ‘संकीर्ण’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘जलम्’ इति विशेषणम्; मत्स्यैः कच्छपैश्च संकीर्णम्

• ग्राहयूथैः: by/with groups of crocodiles
• ग्राहयूथैः: Karana (Instrument/association/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राह + यूथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; ग्राहाणां यूथैः

• समाकुलम्: crowded, teeming
• समाकुलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘जलम्’ इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Tīrthamāhātmya; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇupadī (Gaṅgā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast, luminous expanse of water floods Brahmaloka, sparkling like crystal; aquatic beings—fish, tortoises, and crocodile schools—move within the radiant flood.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmaloka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred waters are portrayed as cosmically vast and intrinsically purifying, worthy of reverence as a manifestation of divine order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage is part of the glorification of Viṣṇupadī/gaṅgā-tīrtha (the sacred current later identified as Gaṅgā).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it is a descriptive praise (māhātmya) of the holy water’s nature and radiance.