Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

कुशोदकं च संप्राश्य कायशुद्धिमवाप्नुयात् । वैशाखे किंशुकैः पूजां यथावच्च घृताशनैः

Transliteration

kuśodakaṃ ca saṃprāśya kāyaśuddhimavāpnuyāt | vaiśākhe kiṃśukaiḥ pūjāṃ yathāvacca ghṛtāśanaiḥ

Translation

وبارتشاف ماءٍ ممزوجٍ بعشب الكوشا على وجه الطقس، ينال المرء طهارة الجسد. وفي شهر فايشاكها تُقام العبادة بزهور الكِمشوكا، وعلى الوجه اللائق مع التناول المقرر لقرابين قائمة على السمن (ghee).

Word by Word

• kuśa-udakam: kuśa-water
• kuśa-udakam: Karman (Object of saṃprāśya/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuśa (प्रातिपदिक) + udaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘kuśa-water’ (water with kuśa grass)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) — ‘and’

• saṃprāśya: having sipped
• saṃprāśya: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-pra-√aś (धातु) + ya (ल्यप्/क्त्वा-समकक्ष, कृदन्त)
• Form: अव्ययकृदन्त (ल्यप्/gerund), ‘having sipped/eaten’

• kāya-śuddhim: purification of the body
• kāya-śuddhim: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāya (प्रातिपदिक) + śuddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘bodily purification’

• avāpnuyāt: should obtain
• avāpnuyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava√āp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘should obtain’

• vaiśākhe: in Vaiśākha
• vaiśākhe: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaiśākha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — ‘in Vaiśākha (month)’ (मास-विशेषण)

• kiṃśukaiḥ: with kiṃśuka flowers
• kiṃśukaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiṃśuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — ‘with kiṃśuka flowers’

• pūjām: worship
• pūjām: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūjā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘worship’

• yathāvat: properly
• yathāvat: Sambandha (Manner/रीति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘properly, as prescribed’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) — ‘and’

• ghṛta-āśanaiḥ: with ghee-based foods
• ghṛta-āśanaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + āśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — ‘with ghee-foods/with eating ghee (offerings)’ (करण)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrtha-māhātmya didactic style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee sips kuśa-infused water with cupped hand; later, in Vaiśākha, bright orange-red kiṃśuka flowers are offered at the shrine; ghee offerings are prepared nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Kuśa
• Vaiśākha
• Kiṃśuka
• Ghṛta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Outer purity supports inner devotion; simple ritual acts (like kuśodaka) are framed as dharmic means to śuddhi.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse provides a ritual prescription within a Tīrtha-māhātmya chapter but does not name a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sip kuśa-water for bodily purification; in Vaiśākha worship with kiṃśuka flowers and perform the ghee-based prāśana as prescribed.