Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

नारायणाग्रतः स्नानं क्षेत्र तीर्थनदीषु च । यः करोति विशुद्धात्मा चातुर्मास्ये विशेषतः

Transliteration

nārāyaṇāgrataḥ snānaṃ kṣetra tīrthanadīṣu ca | yaḥ karoti viśuddhātmā cāturmāsye viśeṣataḥ

Translation

Wer mit geläuterter Seele das heilige Bad vor Nārāyaṇa vollzieht—an heiligen Kṣetra, an Tīrtha und in Flüssen—besonders während des Cāturmāsya, der wird für diese Tat gepriesen.

Word by Word

• नारायणाग्रतः: in front of Nārāyaṇa
• नारायणाग्रतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नारायण + अग्रतस् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अग्रतस्-शब्दः अव्ययम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (in front of Nārāyaṇa)

• स्नानम्: bathing
• स्नानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; करोति-क्रियायाः कर्म

• क्षेत्रे: in a sacred place (kṣetra)
• क्षेत्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरणे (locative)

• तीर्थनदीषु: in sacred rivers
• तीर्थनदीषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ + नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; अधिकरणे (locative)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यत् (relative pronoun)

• करोति: does/performs
• करोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• विशुद्धात्मा: a pure-souled person
• विशुद्धात्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशुद्ध + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेष्य-विशेषणभावः (one whose self is pure)

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya period
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरणे (time-locative)

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb: especially)

Speaker

Brahmā (in Brahma–Nārada dialogue; inferred from chapter colophon context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (chapter frame) / generalized sacred rivers and tīrthas

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee, freshly bathed, approaches a Nārāyaṇa shrine at a riverside kṣetra during monsoon months, carrying wet cloth and a small offering vessel.

Characters & Entities

• Nārāyaṇa
• Tīrtha
• Nadī (river)
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional orientation (before Nārāyaṇa) and tīrtha-bathing together intensify purification, especially in Cāturmāsya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse generalizes to kṣetra, tīrtha, and rivers; the chapter’s frame glorifies Gaṅgā-water merit within Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform snāna at sacred places and rivers with devotion before Nārāyaṇa, with special emphasis during Cāturmāsya.