Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

शालग्रामस्तु गंडक्यां नर्मदायां महेश्वरः । उत्पद्यते स्वयंभूश्च तावेतौ नैव कृत्रिमौ

Transliteration

śālagrāmastu gaṃḍakyāṃ narmadāyāṃ maheśvaraḥ | utpadyate svayaṃbhūśca tāvetau naiva kṛtrimau

Translation

ਗੰਡਕੀ ਨਦੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਸ਼ਾਲਗ੍ਰਾਮ ਪ੍ਰਗਟ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਨਰਮਦਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਹੇਸ਼ਵਰ ਪ੍ਰਗਟ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਇਹ ਦੋਵੇਂ ਸਵਯੰਭੂ ਹਨ, ਕਦੇ ਮਨੁੱਖ-ਕ੍ਰਿਤ ਨਹੀਂ।

Word by Word

• śālagrāmaḥ: Śālagrāma (stone/icon)
• śālagrāmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śālagrāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता

• tu: indeed; but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेष (particle: but/indeed)

• gaṃḍakyām: in the Gaṇḍakī (river)
• gaṃḍakyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṃḍakī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण

• narmadāyām: in the Narmadā (river)
• narmadāyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: narmadā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण

• maheśvaraḥ: Maheśvara (Śiva)
• maheśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता (समनाधिकरण)

• utpadyate: arises; is produced
• utpadyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ut-pad (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• svayaṃbhūḥ: self-manifest
• svayaṃbhūḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svayaṃ-bhū (प्रातिपदिक; स्वयं + भू)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (self-born)

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

• tau: those two
• tau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; सर्वनाम (those two)

• etau: these two
• etau: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; सर्वनाम (these two)

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis: indeed/only)

• kṛtrimau: artificial
• kṛtrimau: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛtrima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; विशेषण (artificial)

Speaker

Gālava (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṇḍakī–Śālagrāma; Narmadā–Maheśvara

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A split-scene: on one side the clear Gaṇḍakī with devotees lifting a dark, spiral-marked Śālagrāma; on the other the broad Narmadā with a radiant svayambhū Śiva-emblem emerging from riverbed, sages offering water and bilva.

Characters & Entities

• Śālagrāma
• Gaṇḍakī
• Narmadā
• Maheśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain sacred manifestations are regarded as svayaṃbhū—self-revealed—inviting reverence for holy rivers and divine presence in nature.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṇḍakī (for Śālagrāma) and Narmadā (for Maheśvara) are explicitly glorified as sacred manifestation sites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse establishes the non-artificial, self-manifest sanctity of these worship-objects and rivers.