Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

नित्यांबुप्राशनकरश्चातुर्मास्ये यदा भवेत् । दिनेदिनेऽश्वमेधस्य फलमाप्नोत्यसंशयम्

Transliteration

nityāṃbuprāśanakaraścāturmāsye yadā bhavet | dinedine'śvamedhasya phalamāpnotyasaṃśayam

Translation

চাতুর্মাস্যে যে ব্যক্তি প্রতিদিন কেবল জলই পান করে, সে নিঃসন্দেহে দিনেদিনে অশ্বমেধ যজ্ঞের ফল লাভ করে।

Word by Word

• नित्याम्बुप्राशनकरः: one who regularly drinks water (only)
• नित्याम्बुप्राशनकरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अम्बु (प्रातिपदिक) + प्राशन (प्रा+अश्-धातु/प्रातिपदिक) + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (नित्यं अम्बु प्राशनं करोति इति)

• चातुर्मास्ये: during the four-month observance
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Time/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (चत्वारः मासाः यस्य/चातुर्मास्यम्)

• यदा: when
• यदा: Kala (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक-सम्बन्ध, ‘when’)

• भवेत्: should be / becomes
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिङ्-लकार (Potential/Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• दिने: in a day
• दिने: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• दिने: day by day
• दिने: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (दिने दिने = प्रतिदिनम्)

• अश्वमेधस्य: of the Aśvamedha sacrifice
• अश्वमेधस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (अश्वस्य मेधः)

• फलम्: fruit, result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• आप्नोति: attains
• आप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• असंशयम्: without doubt
• असंशयम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: असंशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण; नञ्-पूर्वक)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa māhātmya-style instruction)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee in simple cloth sits near a sacred waterbody during monsoon months, holding a small kamaṇḍalu, sipping only water at dawn; in the background, a symbolic Aśvamedha horse and yajña-vedī appear as a visionary equivalence of merit.

Characters & Entities

• Aśvamedha
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Intense self-restraint in the sacred season is exalted as producing merit comparable to the greatest Vedic sacrifices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is vrata-focused and does not explicitly identify a tīrtha by name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nityāmbu-prāśana: a discipline of taking only water daily during Cāturmāsya.