Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

एवमुच्चार्य तत्तोयं तोयमध्ये परिक्षिपेत् । न भूमौ नैव हस्ते च ब्राह्मणस्य नृपोत्तम

Transliteration

evamuccārya tattoyaṃ toyamadhye parikṣipet | na bhūmau naiva haste ca brāhmaṇasya nṛpottama

Translation

ഹേ നൃപോത്തമാ! ഇങ്ങനെ ഉച്ചരിച്ച് ആ ജലം ജലത്തിനുള്ളിൽ തന്നെയായി സ്ഥാപിക്കണം. അത് നിലത്തു വെക്കരുത്; ബ്രാഹ്മണന്റെ കൈയിലും വെക്കരുത്।

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner: “thus”)

• uccārya: having recited
• uccārya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√car (चर्) + ल्यप् (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त; ल्यप्/क्त्वान्त अव्ययभाव (absolutive/gerund) — “having uttered/recited”

• tat-toyam: that water
• tat-toyam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + toya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—“तत् एव तोयम्” (that very water)

• toya-madhye: in the water (midst)
• toya-madhye: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: toya (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—“तोयस्य मध्ये” (in the middle of water)

• parikṣipet: should place
• parikṣipet: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√kṣip (क्षिप्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद — “should place/throw around”

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• bhūmau: on the ground
• bhūmau: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle: “indeed/just”)

• haste: in the hand
• haste: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• brāhmaṇasya: of a brāhmaṇa
• brāhmaṇasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• nṛpa-uttama: O best of kings
• nṛpa-uttama: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—“उत्तमः नृपः”

Speaker

Unknown (ritual instruction within Nāgarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A priest carefully lowers a small ritual container into a larger water vessel; attendants ensure it never touches the ground; the king watches as the rule is explained.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred acts require careful observance of purity and procedure; reverence is shown through correct handling of offerings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is procedural within a broader tīrtha-glorification section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

After recitation, the water is to be placed into water (kept ritually contained), not set on the ground or directly into a brāhmaṇa’s hand.