Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

कुशोदकाद्गंधजलं तस्मात्तीर्थोदकं वरम् । तीर्थेभ्यश्च जलं दर्शे महीसागरसंभवम्

Transliteration

kuśodakādgaṃdhajalaṃ tasmāttīrthodakaṃ varam | tīrthebhyaśca jalaṃ darśe mahīsāgarasaṃbhavam

Translation

ماءُ الكوشا حسنٌ، غيرَ أن الماءَ المُعطَّرَ أفضلُ منه؛ وأفضلُ من ذلك ماءُ التِّيرثا (المَعبر المقدّس). بل أرفعُ من مياهِ التيرثا المعتادة الماءُ الذي يظهرُ يومَ المحاق، المولودُ من الأرضِ والمحيط.

Word by Word

• kuśa-udakāt: from kuśa-water
• kuśa-udakāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuśa (प्रातिपदिक) + udaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (kuśasya udakāt)

• gandha-jalam: scented water
• gandha-jalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandha (प्रातिपदिक) + jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (gandhasya jalam)

• tasmāt: from that (than that)
• tasmāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• tīrtha-udakam: pilgrimage-site water
• tīrtha-udakam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + udaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (tīrthasya udakam)

• varam: better, superior
• varam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (tīrthodakam इति)

• tīrthebhyaḥ: from (other) tīrthas
• tīrthebhyaḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), बहुवचन

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

• jalam: water
• jalam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन

• darśe: on the Darśa (new-moon) occasion
• darśe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; कालवाचकः (on Darśa day/new-moon rite)

• mahī-sāgara-saṃbhavam: arising from the earth-ocean
• mahī-sāgara-saṃbhavam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक) + sāgara (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (mahī-sāgarāt saṃbhavam = arising from the earth-ocean) विशेषणम् (jalam इति)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at a riverside tīrtha prepares successive vessels: kuśa-water, scented water, tīrtha-water, and a luminous amāvāsyā water-pot shimmering with oceanic and earthy hues; priests recite while moonless night sky frames the sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Darśa (new-moon)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma grades ritual substances by sanctity; the more sacred the source, the greater the spiritual efficacy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Tīrtha-water is praised in general; no single location is specified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Using increasingly sanctified water—kuśa-water, scented water, then tīrtha-water, with special praise for Darśa (new-moon) water.