Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

यन्मूर्ध्नि लब्धनिलया सुरलोकसिंधुर्यस्यांगगां भगवती जगदंबिका च । यत्कुंडले त्वहह तक्षकवासुकी द्वौ सोऽस्माकमेव गतिरर्धशशांकमौलिः

Transliteration

yanmūrdhni labdhanilayā suralokasiṃdhuryasyāṃgagāṃ bhagavatī jagadaṃbikā ca | yatkuṃḍale tvahaha takṣakavāsukī dvau so'smākameva gatirardhaśaśāṃkamauliḥ

Translation

Esse Senhor de meia-lua na fronte: em sua cabeça o rio celeste encontrou morada; em seu corpo está a santa Gaṅgā, junto da Bem-aventurada Mãe do mundo; e em seus brincos—sim, de fato—habitam Takṣaka e Vāsuki. Ele é, verdadeiramente, o nosso refúgio.

Word by Word

• yat: which/that
• yat: Sambandha (Relative-correlative link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (relative pronoun: which/that)

• mūrdhni: on (his) head
• mūrdhni: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrdhan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• labdha-nilayā: having found residence
• labdha-nilayā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: labdha (√labh धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय; कृदन्त) + nilaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण (having obtained an abode)

• sura-loka-sindhuḥ: the river of the gods’ world (Ganga)
• sura-loka-sindhuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक) + sindhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन (whose)

• aṅga-gām: the body-going one (Ganga)
• aṅga-gām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + gā (प्रातिपदिक; गङ्गा)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• bhagavatī: the Blessed Goddess
• bhagavatī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• jagad-ambikā: Mother of the world
• jagad-ambikā: Karta (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक) + ambikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• yat: which/that
• yat: Sambandha (Relative link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (which/that)

• kuṇḍale: in (his) earrings
• kuṇḍale: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

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

• ahaha: ah! alas!
• ahaha: Sambandha (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ahaha (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मय-अव्यय (interjection of wonder)

• takṣaka-vāsukī: Takṣaka and Vāsuki
• takṣaka-vāsukī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: takṣaka (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsuki (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन (dual dvandva)

• dvau: two
• dvau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन (numeral adjective)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• asmākam: of us/our
• asmākam: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• eva: only/indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• gatiḥ: refuge/goal
• gatiḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ardha-śaśāṅka-mauliḥ: the one whose crest bears the half-moon (Śiva)
• ardha-śaśāṅka-mauliḥ: Karta (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ardha (प्रातिपदिक) + śaśāṅka (प्रातिपदिक) + mauli (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (epithet)

Speaker

Nāga-stuti (likely Takṣaka and/or the Nāgas, within Sūta’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgādhara-Śiva (iconic tīrtha-source)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant Śiva with half-moon crest, Gaṅgā flowing from his matted hair, Umā as Jagadambikā close to his body, and nāgas (Takṣaka and Vāsuki) ornamenting his earrings; devotees in reverent posture below.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Gaṅgā
• Jagadambikā (Pārvatī)
• Takṣaka
• Vāsuki

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is the cosmic refuge who bears Gaṅgā and the Divine Mother, and even the Nāgas are upheld by Him—signifying protection and sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā is invoked as the celestial river; while no single tīrtha is named, the imagery supports sacred-geography themes tied to Gaṅgā and Śiva.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse functions as devotional praise centered on Śiva’s sacred attributes.