Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

यत्तन्महीसमुद्रस्य तटं शार्विकतीर्थकम् । तदाक्रम्य कृतं तेन मरुभूमिसमं प्रभोः

Transliteration

yattanmahīsamudrasya taṭaṃ śārvikatīrthakam | tadākramya kṛtaṃ tena marubhūmisamaṃ prabhoḥ

Translation

Bờ của đại dương mênh mông ấy—Thánh địa Śārvika Tīrtha—đã bị hắn giày xéo và biến thành đất đai như sa mạc, ôi Chúa tể.

Word by Word

• yat: which (that)
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; यत्-प्रत्यय (relative)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• mahī-samudrasya: of the great sea / earth-ocean
• mahī-samudrasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक) + samudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महीसमुद्रः = पृथिव्याः समुद्रः/महान् समुद्रः)

• taṭam: shore, bank
• taṭam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• śārvika-tīrthakam: the Śārvika sacred ford/place
• śārvika-tīrthakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śārvika (प्रातिपदिक; śarva-संबन्धि) + tīrthaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (शार्विकं तीर्थकम्)

• tat: that (place)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ākramya: having overstepped/attacked
• ākramya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā+√kram (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• kṛtam: made, turned into
• kṛtam: Kriya (Result state/क्रिया-फल)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त; √kṛ (धातु) क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त

• tena: by him
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• maru-bhūmi-samam: like a desert
• maru-bhūmi-samam: Karma (Object complement/कर्म-प्रवचन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: maru-bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; उपमान-तत्पुरुष (मरुभूम्या समम्)

• prabhoḥ: of the Lord
• prabhoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

Speaker

Devas

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śārvika Tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Prabhu (the addressed lord)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A once-lush sacred sea-shore with shrines and pilgrims is shown crushed under an asura’s march; the land turns cracked and sandy, vegetation withers, and the tīrtha markers lie broken.

Characters & Entities

• Śārvika Tīrtha
• Mahīsamudra (great ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Desecration of sacred places signals adharma; protecting tīrthas is part of preserving dharma and the world’s spiritual ecology.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śārvika Tīrtha on the shore of the great ocean (mahīsamudra-taṭa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse highlights a tīrtha’s violation, implying the need for its protection/restoration.