Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

आपः पुरुषवीर्याश्च पुनंतीर्भूर्भूवःस्वश्च । तैः पुनरमीवघ्नाःसंस्पृशेतात्मना भुवः

Transliteration

āpaḥ puruṣavīryāśca punaṃtīrbhūrbhūvaḥsvaśca | taiḥ punaramīvaghnāḥsaṃspṛśetātmanā bhuvaḥ

Translation

पुरुष-वीर्याने युक्त अशी आपः भूर्, भुवः व स्वः या त्रिलोकीला पवित्र करतात. त्या जलांचा पुनः स्पर्श केल्याने मनुष्य रोगनाशक होतो आणि आपल्या आत्मसत्तेने लोकांना पावन करतो.

Word by Word

• āpaḥ: waters
• āpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ap (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• puruṣa-vīryāḥ: having the potency of man / manly potency
• puruṣa-vīryāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + vīrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण (adjective) of āpaḥ; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive-determinative: 'of man')

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• punaṃtīḥ: purifying
• punaṃtīḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pū (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (Present active participle/शतृ), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण of āpaḥ

• bhūḥ: Bhū (earth-world)
• bhūḥ: Karta (Co-subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (लोक-नाम)

• bhuvaḥ: Bhuvaḥ (mid-region)
• bhuvaḥ: Karta (Co-subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuvas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा, एकवचन; (लोक-नाम)

• svaḥ: Svaḥ (heaven)
• svaḥ: Karta (Co-subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svar (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (लोक-नाम)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• taiḥ: by them (by those)
• taiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (M/N), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• punar: again; further
• punar: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• amīvaghnāḥ: destroyers of disease
• amīvaghnāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amīva (प्रातिपदिक) + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (understood agents/means); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ('disease'-slaying)

• saṃspṛśet: should touch
• saṃspṛśet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ√spṛś (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/पोटेन्शियल), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• ātmanā: with oneself; by one’s own self
• ātmanā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; (स्व-शरीरेण/स्वयम् sense)

• bhuvaḥ: the worlds / the earths
• bhuvaḥ: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन

Speaker

The hymn-speakers (inhabitants/varṇas) within Sūta’s narration

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative pilgrim at a luminous waterbody; the waters rise as personified Āpaḥ carrying Puruṣa-tejas, radiating upward to Bhūḥ-Bhuvaḥ-Svaḥ as three stacked realms being cleansed; subtle aura of healing dispels dark ‘disease’ forms.

Characters & Entities

• Āpaḥ (waters)
• Puruṣa
• Bhūḥ
• Bhuvaḥ
• Svaḥ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Water is sacred because it carries divine potency; contact with it purifies, heals, and aligns the practitioner with cosmic welfare.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named terrestrial tīrtha; the teaching is universal, supporting tīrtha-theology where waters sanctify worlds.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Saṃsparśa/snānāṅga: touching (and by implication bathing with) sanctified waters for purification and removal of ailments.