Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

शिरस्तु तदवस्थं हि समग्रं तत्र संस्थितम् । जालिगुल्मावलग्नं च तस्या नैवापतज्जले

Transliteration

śirastu tadavasthaṃ hi samagraṃ tatra saṃsthitam | jāligulmāvalagnaṃ ca tasyā naivāpatajjale

Translation

مگر اس کا سر اسی حالت میں، پورا کا پورا، وہیں قائم رہا۔ جالوں اور جھاڑیوں کے گچھے میں اٹک کر وہ پانی میں نہ گرا۔

Word by Word

• śiraḥ: the head
• śiraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• tu: however
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• tadavastham: in that condition
• tadavastham: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tadavastha (प्रातिपदिक) = tad + avastha
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषणम्; समासः कर्मधारयः (tādṛśam avastham)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/हेतुबोधक-अव्यय (particle: indeed/for)

• samagram: entire, intact
• samagram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samagra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषणम्

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• saṃsthitam: was situated/remaining
• saṃsthitam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + स्था (धातु) → saṃsthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषणम्

• jāligulmāvalagnam: stuck to nets and thickets
• jāligulmāvalagnam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāligulmāvalagna (प्रातिपदिक) = jāli + gulma + avalagna
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (singular); विशेषणम्; समासः तत्पुरुषः (jāli-gulmeṣu avalagnam)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (singular); सर्वनाम

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle: indeed/just)

• apatat: fell
• apatat: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + पत् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपदम्; धातुः आ+पत् (to fall down)

• jale: into the water
• jale: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śanidarśa (shoreline locus at Mahī–Sāgara Saṅgama)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the shore near the confluence, a severed head remains intact, lodged in a tangle of fishing nets and coastal shrubs; the waterline glints nearby, but the head is held back, creating a tense, uncanny stillness.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The narrative builds toward the idea of ‘tīrtha-prabhāva’—events unfold in unusual ways around sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Contextually the Mahī–Sāgara-saṅgama region (Śanidarśa) described in the surrounding verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive.