Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

येन नो याति पातालं गंगा स्वर्गपरिच्युता । तस्मात्त्वं देव मद्वाक्यात्स्वमूर्ध्ना वह जाह्नवीम्

Transliteration

yena no yāti pātālaṃ gaṃgā svargaparicyutā | tasmāttvaṃ deva madvākyātsvamūrdhnā vaha jāhnavīm

Translation

เพื่อมิให้พระคงคา ผู้ตกลงมาจากสวรรค์ ดิ่งสู่บาดาล เพราะฉะนั้น ข้าแต่เทพเจ้า ตามวาจาข้าขอ จงทรงรับชาห์นวีไว้บนพระเศียรของพระองค์เอง

Word by Word

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (singular)

• नः: of us / our
• नः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (plural)

• याति: goes
• याति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• पातालम्: to Pātāla (netherworld)
• पातालम्: Gati-karma (Goal/गतिकर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• गंगा: Gaṅgā
• गंगा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• स्वर्गपरिच्युता: fallen from heaven
• स्वर्गपरिच्युता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वर्ग + परिच्युत (प्रातिपदिक; परि√च्युत क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies gaṅgā); पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुषः (स्वर्गात् परिच्युता)

• तस्मात्: therefore
• तस्मात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: हेतौ/तस्मात्-प्रयोगः (ablatival adverb: 'therefore/from that')

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• देव: O god
• देव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• मत्: my
• मत्: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (singular)

• वाक्यात्: from (my) word / because of (my) statement
• वाक्यात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), पञ्चमी (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (singular)

• स्व: your own
• स्व: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifies mūrdhnā)

• मूर्ध्ना: with (your) head
• मूर्ध्ना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्धन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (singular)

• वह: carry / bear
• वह: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वह् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपदम्, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (singular)

• जाह्नवीम्: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• जाह्नवीम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाह्नवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Likely Devī (Pārvatī) addressing Śiva, inferred from vocative sureśvari earlier and the request to 'Deva'

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A supplicant (implied speaker: Umā/Pārvatī or divine interlocutor) urges Śiva to bear Jāhnavī on his head so her heavenly fall does not pierce down to pātāla; Gaṅgā appears as a luminous stream poised to descend.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Jāhnavī
• Svarga
• Pātāla
• Śiva
• Pārvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine power is mediated through divine restraint—Śiva’s bearing of Gaṅgā makes heavenly grace safe and accessible to the world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā-tīrthas broadly, by grounding their sanctity in the cosmic event of Gaṅgā’s descent and containment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is etiological (explaining the sacred origin).