Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

तत आचम्य प्रक्षाल्य चरणौ सर्वतोदिशम् । अपश्यत्प्रणतः सर्वैर्ब्रह्मलोकनिवासिभिः

Transliteration

tata ācamya prakṣālya caraṇau sarvatodiśam | apaśyatpraṇataḥ sarvairbrahmalokanivāsibhiḥ

Translation

Dann, nachdem er Ācamana (reinigendes Wasserschlürfen) vollzogen und seine Füße nach allen Richtungen gewaschen hatte, sah er alle Bewohner der Brahmaloka in ehrfürchtiger Verneigung.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-viseshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्यय — ‘then’

• आचम्य: having performed ācamana
• आचम्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√चम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) — ‘having sipped (water), having performed ācamana’

• प्रक्षाल्य: having washed
• प्रक्षाल्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√क्षल् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) — ‘having washed’

• चरणौ: (his) two feet
• चरणौ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), द्विवचन

• सर्वतः: from all sides
• सर्वतः: Kriya-viseshana (Adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्यय — ‘from all sides/everywhere’

• दिशम्: direction
• दिशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; ‘direction’ (सर्वतः इत्यस्य सह प्रयोगः)

• अपश्यत्: he saw
• अपश्यत्: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पश् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• प्रणतः: bowed down
• प्रणतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-√नम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (भूतकृदन्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘bowed down’ (कर्तृविशेषण)

• सर्वैः: by all
• सर्वैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), बहुवचन; ‘by all’

• ब्रह्मलोकनिवासिभिः: by the inhabitants of Brahmaloka
• ब्रह्मलोकनिवासिभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म-लोक-निवासिन् (प्रातिपदिक; निवासिन् = √वस् (धातु) से)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास — ‘by the dwellers of Brahmaloka’

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from adhyāya frame; explicit at 25)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā rises from samādhi, performs ācamanam, then washes his feet, symbolically to all directions; celestial beings of Brahmaloka appear around, hands folded, bowing in concentric ranks.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmaloka
• Brahmaloka-nivāsins

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity and reverence (śauca, namaskāra) accompany sacred encounters; devotion is mirrored by the divine assembly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya, but this line alone does not identify the tīrtha by name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ācamana (sipping water for purification) and washing the feet (caraṇa-prakṣālana).