Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

उज्जयन्तगिरेर्मूर्ध्नि गजराजः समागतः । तदाग्रचरणं तस्य ददौ मूर्धनि कारणात्

Transliteration

ujjayantagirermūrdhni gajarājaḥ samāgataḥ | tadāgracaraṇaṃ tasya dadau mūrdhani kāraṇāt

Translation

ഉജ്ജയന്തഗിരിയുടെ ശിഖരത്തിൽ ഗജരാജൻ എത്തി; അപ്പോൾ ഏതോ കാരണത്താൽ തന്റെ മുൻപാദം ശിഖരത്തിന്മേൽ വെച്ചു।

Word by Word

• उज्जयन्तगिरेः: of Mount Ujjayanta
• उज्जयन्तगिरेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उज्जयन्तगिरि (प्रातिपदिक; उज्जयन्त + गिरि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘उज्जयन्त-गिरेः’

• मूर्ध्नि: on the summit/head
• मूर्ध्नि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्धन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गजराजः: the king of elephants
• गजराजः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गजराज (प्रातिपदिक; गज + राज)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• समागतः: arrived
• समागतः: Kriya (Resultant state/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + गम् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘having come/arrived’

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• अग्रचरणम्: the fore-foot
• अग्रचरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्रचरण (प्रातिपदिक; अग्र + चरण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘front foot/fore-step’

• तस्य: of him/of that one
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ददौ: gave/placed
• ददौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मूर्धनि: on the head
• मूर्धनि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्धन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कारणात्: because of a reason
• कारणात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual narrative voice within the dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gajapāda-udbhava tīrtha (to be named by the narrative)

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A majestic elephant-king arrives at the mountain summit; with deliberate purpose he places his forefoot upon the peak, as if pressing a hidden spring within the rock.

Characters & Entities

• Ujjayanta
• Gajarāja (king elephant)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In tīrtha-māhātmyas, divine signs in nature reveal sanctity—miraculous events become enduring pilgrimage markers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mount Ujjayanta’s summit area, where a miraculous water-source is about to manifest.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; it narrates the origin of a sacred feature.