Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

इयं तु शापनिर्दग्धा हरचूडामणिः सरित् । वार्यस्याः स्यादपेयं तु नैवेह स्थातुमर्हति

Transliteration

iyaṃ tu śāpanirdagdhā haracūḍāmaṇiḥ sarit | vāryasyāḥ syādapeyaṃ tu naiveha sthātumarhati

Translation

இந்த ஹரசூடாமணி நதி சாபத்தால் எரிந்தது; இதன் நீர் குடிக்கத் தகாததாக ஆகுக, இங்கு தங்கத் தகுதியும் இல்லை।

Word by Word

• इयम्: this (she/this one)
• इयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन (Singular), सर्वनाम (Pronoun)

• तु: but / indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थ (contrast/emphasis)

• शाप-निर्दग्धा: burnt by a curse
• शाप-निर्दग्धा: Visheshana (Qualifier of iyam/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाप (प्रातिपदिक) + निर्दग्ध (दह् धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय; निर्-उपसर्ग)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (शापेन निर्दग्धा), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• हर-चूडा-मणिः: the jewel on Hara’s crest (Śiva’s crest-jewel)
• हर-चूडा-मणिः: Karta (Apposition/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर (प्रातिपदिक) + चूडा (प्रातिपदिक) + मणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (हरस्य चूडायां मणिः), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन (Singular)

• सरित्: river
• सरित्: Karta (Apposition/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन (Singular)

• वार्यस्याः: of (its) water
• वार्यस्याः: Sambandha (Of the water/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन (Singular)

• स्यात्: would be / should be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada), तृतीयपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• अपेयम्: not drinkable
• अपेयम्: Visheshana (Predicate adjective of vāri/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ- पेय (पा धातु, यत्-प्रत्यय; negated)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विशेषार्थ (emphasis)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• एव: certainly
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Location marker/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• स्थातुम्: to stay / to stand
• स्थातुम्: Kriya-artha (Complement infinitive/क्रियार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (Infinitive), क्रियार्थ (purpose/ability context)

• अर्हति: is fit / deserves
• अर्हति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Durvāsā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Haracūḍāmaṇī (nadī)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: interlocutor in the Dvārakā-māhātmya frame (traditionally a sage/assembly)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A river personified as a goddess, her stream darkened/withheld, while a sage’s curse ‘scorches’ the waters; the landscape suggests coastal Saurashtra with sacred markers and austerity imagery.

Characters & Entities

• Durvāsā
• Haracūḍāmaṇi River
• Hara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text dramatizes how spiritual-ethical forces govern even tīrtha waters; purity and blessing are sustained through dharma and reverence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Haracūḍāmaṇi river-tīrtha in the Dvārakā sacred landscape is explicitly mentioned.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A negative injunction is implied: when cursed, the water is ‘apeya’ (not fit for drinking); no positive rite is stated in this verse.