Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

तत्रावगाहनात्पार्थ मुच्यते जंतुरंहसा । यथा सा पिङ्गला नाडी देहमध्ये व्यवस्थिता

Transliteration

tatrāvagāhanātpārtha mucyate jaṃturaṃhasā | yathā sā piṅgalā nāḍī dehamadhye vyavasthitā

Translation

O Pārtha, durch das Bad dort wird ein Wesen rasch von Sünde befreit—so wie die Piṅgalā-Nāḍī in der Mitte des Leibes verankert ist.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: स्थानवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of place)

• अवगाहनात्: from bathing/immersion
• अवगाहनात्: Apadana (Source/Cause/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अव-गाहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचनम्; Neuter, Ablative singular

• पार्थ: O Pārtha
• पार्थ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचनम्; Masculine, Vocative singular

• मुच्यते: is freed
• मुच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्, आत्मनेपदम्; Present, 3rd person singular, middle/passive sense

• जन्तुः: a creature
• जन्तुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्तु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचनम्; Masculine, Nominative singular

• अंहसा: from sin
• अंहसा: Hetu/Karana (Cause/Instrument/हेतु/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अंहस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया (3rd/करण) एकवचनम्; Neuter, Instrumental singular (means/cause: ‘from sin’)

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Upamana/Prakara (Comparison/Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकारवाचक-अव्ययम् (comparative/manner)

• सा: that (she)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचनम्; Pronoun, Nominative singular

• पिङ्गला: piṅgalā (tawny)
• पिङ्गला: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पिङ्गल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचनम्; Feminine, Nominative singular (qualifying नाडी)

• नाडी: subtle channel (nāḍī)
• नाडी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाडी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचनम्; Feminine, Nominative singular

• देहमध्ये: in the middle of the body
• देहमध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक) + मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचनम्; Neuter, Locative singular; तत्पुरुषः (देहस्य मध्ये)

• व्यवस्थिता: is situated
• व्यवस्थिता: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-अव-स्था (धातु)
• Form: भूतकाले कृदन्तः (क्त-प्रत्ययः), प्रथमा-एकवचनम्, स्त्रीलिङ्गः; Past passive participle, Nominative singular, Feminine

Speaker

Sūta (addressing a listener as Pārtha within the narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śukla-tīrtha (contextual) on Revā

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Arjuna (Pārtha)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee bathes in the Revā while a sage explains the subtle-body analogy: the Piṅgalā nāḍī glowing within the torso, mirrored by the river’s purifying current.

Characters & Entities

• Pārtha
• Piṅgalā nāḍī
• Revā (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-snāna is framed as real moral-spiritual purification, and sacred places are analogized to the body’s inner channels that sustain life and transformation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The bathing-place on Revā (Narmadā) being described in this passage (contextually leading to Śukla-tīrtha).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Avagāhana/snāna—ritual immersion or bathing at the tīrtha for removal of sin.