Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 167

Devanagari script

अस्य तीर्थस्य माहात्म्यं जप्तव्यं कर्णमूलके । पुत्रस्य वापि शिष्यस्य न कथंचन नास्तिकः

Transliteration

asya tīrthasya māhātmyaṃ japtavyaṃ karṇamūlake | putrasya vāpi śiṣyasya na kathaṃcana nāstikaḥ

Translation

Keagungan tīrtha ini hendaklah dilafazkan perlahan di pangkal telinga. Boleh disampaikan kepada anak atau murid, tetapi jangan sekali-kali kepada nāstika (orang tidak beriman).

Word by Word

• asya: of this
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• tīrthasya: of the pilgrimage place
• tīrthasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• māhātmyam: the greatness (glory)
• māhātmyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; अत्र कर्म (to be recited)

• japtavyam: should be recited
• japtavyam: Kriya (Obligation/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jap (जप् धातु) + tavya (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (तव्यत्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय—कर्तव्यता (gerundive: ‘should be recited’)

• karṇamūlake: at the root of the ear (into the ear)
• karṇamūlake: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + mūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (karṇasya mūlam)

• putrasya: of (one’s) son
• putrasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्प (disjunctive particle)

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि—समुच्चय/अवधारण (also/even)

• śiṣyasya: of a disciple
• śiṣyasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• na: not
• na: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• kathaṃcana: in any way (at all)
• kathaṃcana: Prayojana (Emphasis/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kathaṃcana (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सर्वथा/कदाचन-निषेधार्थ (in any way/at all)

• nāstikaḥ: a non-believer/atheist
• nāstikaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāstika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; निषेधेन सह—‘न (भवेत्) आस्तिकः’ इत्यर्थे

Speaker

Nārada

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Purūravāditya-tīrtha (māhātmya transmission rule)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A guru or elder leans close to a disciple/son, whispering the tīrtha-māhātmya into the ear; the background shows a quiet shrine and a boundary separating skeptics from the sanctum.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha (Bahūdaka contextually)
• Son (putra)
• Disciple (śiṣya)
• Nāstika

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred teachings require adhikāra—transmission should be reverent, intimate, and given to receptive hearts.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse refers to ‘this tīrtha’ within the chapter’s Bahūdaka tīrtha māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Reciting the tīrtha-māhātmya as a soft japa into the ear (karṇopadeśa), and restricting it from nāstikas.