Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

तथा मूर्त्तं हरिप्रीत्या मनुष्यो लयमाव्रजेत् । यथा मार्गजलं गंगापतितं त्रिदशैरपि

Transliteration

tathā mūrttaṃ hariprītyā manuṣyo layamāvrajet | yathā mārgajalaṃ gaṃgāpatitaṃ tridaśairapi

Translation

அவ்வாறே ஹரிப்பிரீதியால் மனிதன் உடலுடன் இருந்தபோதும் லயத்தை அடைவான்; வழியோர சாதாரண நீரும் கங்கையில் விழுந்தால் தேவர்களாலும் புனிதமென மதிக்கப்படுவது போல।

Word by Word

• तथा: thus, in that manner
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/उपमानसूचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb: 'thus/so')

• मूर्त्तम्: the embodied form; the image/body
• मूर्त्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative singular)

• हरि-प्रीत्या: by/through devotion pleasing Hari
• हरि-प्रीत्या: Karana/Hetu (Instrument/Cause/करण-हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक) + prīti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण), एकवचन (Feminine, Instrumental singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (genitive determinative: 'of Hari' + 'pleasure')

• मनुष्यः: a man; a human
• मनुष्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative singular)

• लयम्: dissolution; absorption
• लयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: laya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative singular)

• आव्रजेत्: should attain/enter
• आव्रजेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā√vraj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (Optative, Parasmaipada, 3rd person singular)

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/यथार्थसूचक (indeclinable: 'just as')

• मार्ग-जलम्: road-water; water from the path
• मार्ग-जलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārga (प्रातिपदिक) + jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन (Neuter, Nominative singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ('of the path/road' + 'water')

• गङ्गा-पतितम्: fallen into the Ganga
• गङ्गा-पतितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक) + patita (कृदन्त; √pat)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन (Neuter, Nominative singular) विशेषणम्; कृदन्तः—क्त (past passive participle) √पत्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ('into Ganga' sense: 'fallen into/onto Ganga')

• त्रिदशैः: by the gods (thirty-three)
• त्रिदशैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tridaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन (Masculine, Instrumental plural)

• अपि: even; also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/समुच्चयार्थक निपात (particle: 'even/also')

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (illustrative exemplar)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A small roadside stream flows into the majestic Gaṅgā; devas in the sky acknowledge its sanctity; a devotee, still embodied, is shown with a translucent overlay merging into a radiant Hari-form through love.

Characters & Entities

• Hari
• Gaṅgā
• Tridaśa (gods)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion to Hari purifies and transforms even ordinary embodied life, just as contact with Gaṅgā sanctifies common water.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā is explicitly invoked as the paradigmatic purifier among tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse emphasizes bhakti (Hari-prīti) as the means to spiritual absorption.