Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 92

Devanagari script

तस्मात्सर्वप्रयत्नेन तत्र स्नानं समाचरेत् । माघशुक्लतृतीयायां यथावद्द्विजसत्तमाः

Transliteration

tasmātsarvaprayatnena tatra snānaṃ samācaret | māghaśuklatṛtīyāyāṃ yathāvaddvijasattamāḥ

Translation

فلذلك، يا خيرَ ذوي الولادتين، ينبغي للمرء أن يجتهد غاية الاجتهاد في الاغتسال هناك على الوجه المشروع، في اليوم القمري الثالث من النصف المضيء من شهر ماغها.

Word by Word

• tasmāt: therefore, from that (reason)
• tasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sarva-prayatnena: with all effort
• sarva-prayatnena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'with all effort'

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): 'there/in that place'

• snānam: bathing
• snānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• samācaret: should perform/practice
• samācaret: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√car (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• māgha-śukla-tṛtīyāyām: on Māgha bright third (tithi)
• māgha-śukla-tṛtīyāyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māgha (प्रातिपदिक) + śukla (प्रातिपदिक) + tṛtīyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (multi-member): 'on the third (tithi) of the bright fortnight of Māgha'

• yathāvat: properly
• yathāvat: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): 'properly, according to rule'

• dvija-sattamāḥ: O best of the twice-born
• dvija-sattamāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: 'best among twice-born' (vocative sense by address)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śarmiṣṭhātīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvija-sattamāḥ / sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims at dawn approach the ghat with water-pots; a learned brāhmaṇa instructs ‘yathāvat’ procedure; the lunar day is symbolized by a bright crescent/third-day motif in the sky.

Characters & Entities

• Śarmiṣṭhātīrtha
• Māgha-śukla-tṛtīyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification is strengthened by right time (tithi) and right method (yathāvat), not merely by intention.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śarmiṣṭhātīrtha (the tīrtha being discussed in this adhyāya).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Duly bathe at the tīrtha on Māgha-śukla-tṛtīyā.