Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

गालव उवाच । दानानि यज्ञा नियमास्तपांसि गंगादितीर्थेषु निमज्जनानि । रामेश्वरं त्वां न नमंति ये तु व्यर्थानि तेषामिति निश्चयोऽत्र

Transliteration

gālava uvāca | dānāni yajñā niyamāstapāṃsi gaṃgāditīrtheṣu nimajjanāni | rāmeśvaraṃ tvāṃ na namaṃti ye tu vyarthāni teṣāmiti niścayo'tra

Translation

Gālava disse: «Doações, sacrifícios (yajña), observâncias, austeridades e até as imersões no Gaṅgā e noutros tīrthas—se não se prostram diante de ti, ó Rāmeśvara, tudo isso é declarado vão; esta é aqui a conclusão».

Word by Word

• gālavaḥ: Gālava
• gālavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gālava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• dānāni: gifts/charities
• dānāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), बहुवचन (Plural)

• yajñāḥ: sacrifices
• yajñāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• niyamāḥ: observances
• niyamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• tapāṃsi: austerities
• tapāṃsi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), बहुवचन (Plural)

• gaṅgāditīrtheṣu: in tīrthas such as the Gaṅgā
• gaṅgāditīrtheṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन (Plural); तत्पुरुष: 'गङ्गा-आदि-तीर्थेषु' (in pilgrimage-places beginning with Gaṅgā)

• nimajjanāni: immersions/baths
• nimajjanāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nimajjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), बहुवचन (Plural)

• rāmeśvaram: Rāmeśvara
• rāmeśvaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'रामस्य ईश्वरम्'

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha/Modifier (सम्बन्ध/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: negation particle

• namanti: bow/salute
• namanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nam (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• ye: who (those who)
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

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

• vyarthāni: vain
• vyarthāni: Pradhana-predicative (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyartha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), बहुवचन (Plural)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha/Modifier (सम्बन्ध/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इति-कार (quotative particle)

• niścayaḥ: certainty/conviction
• niścayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niścaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): देशे (here)

Speaker

Gālava

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rāmeśvara (Setu-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Audience of the māhātmya / addressed to Rāmeśvara

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Gālava enumerates dāna, yajña, niyama, tapas, and Gaṅgā-snānā as symbolic vignettes around him, while the central act is a devotee bowing at the Rāmeśvara liṅga—showing all practices converging into namaskāra.

Characters & Entities

• Gālava
• Rāmeśvara
• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual merit is incomplete without surrender and reverence to Rāmeśvara; devotion gives rites their efficacy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rāmeśvaram (Setu), while also referencing Gaṅgā and other tīrthas as secondary without Śiva-bhakti.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna, yajña, niyama, tapa, and tīrtha-snāna are mentioned, but their value is tied to namaskāra to Rāmeśvara.