Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

उच्छिष्टोऽहं द्विजश्रेष्ठ शय्यारूढो व्यवस्थितः । अत्र शालोद्भवे स्तंभे तस्मादेतज्जलं क्षिप

Transliteration

ucchiṣṭo'haṃ dvijaśreṣṭha śayyārūḍho vyavasthitaḥ | atra śālodbhave staṃbhe tasmādetajjalaṃ kṣipa

Translation

«يا أفضلَ البراهمة، إنّي في حالِ نجاسةٍ وأنا مستقرٌّ على فراشي. فلذلك اطرحْ هذا الماءَ هنا على هذا العمودِ الذي نبتَ من شجرةِ الشالا.»

Word by Word

• ucchiṣṭaḥ: impure
• ucchiṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ucchiṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘उच्छिष्टः’ = impure/after eating (qualifies aham)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dvijaśreṣṭha: O best of Brahmins
• dvijaśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: द्विजानां श्रेष्ठः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• śayyā-rūḍhaḥ: mounted on the bed
• śayyā-rūḍhaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śayyā + rūḍha (प्रातिपदिक; rūḍha from ruh (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: समास: शय्यायाम् आरूढः (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vyavasthitaḥ: situated/remaining
• vyavasthitaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ava-sthā (धातु) + क्त
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय कृदन्त (past passive participle used adjectivally): पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘स्थितः/remaining’

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक adverb)

• śāla-udbhave: in the pillar made of śāla-wood
• śāla-udbhave: Adhikarana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāla + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: शालात् उद्भवः (पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुष); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘स्तम्भे’

• staṃbhe: in the pillar
• staṃbhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: staṃbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (तस्मात् = therefore/from that)

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-विशेषण, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘जलम्’

• jalam: water
• jalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kṣipa: throw/sprinkle
• kṣipa: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṣip (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

King (pārthiva/bhūpati)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king reclines on a couch, declaring himself impure, pointing toward a wooden/stone pillar associated with a śāla tree, ordering the brāhmaṇa to throw the sanctified water there instead of on him.

Characters & Entities

• King (speaker)
• Śāla tree (śāla)
• Pillar (staṃbha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual purity rules shape how sacred acts are applied; even kings acknowledge constraints and redirect rites accordingly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A particular tīrtha is not named in this verse; it highlights a ritual act involving a śāla-born pillar within the chapter’s Māhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sprinkling/throwing consecrated water (jalam, implied śānti-udaka) is directed, with attention to impurity (ucchiṣṭa).