Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

दिवाकरकरैः स्पृष्टं तमो यद्वत्प्रणश्यति । पुष्करोदकसंस्पर्शाच्छीघ्रं गच्छति पातकम्

Transliteration

divākarakaraiḥ spṛṣṭaṃ tamo yadvatpraṇaśyati | puṣkarodakasaṃsparśācchīghraṃ gacchati pātakam

Translation

Wie die Finsternis vergeht, wenn sie von den Strahlen der Sonne berührt wird, so weicht die Sünde schnell durch die Berührung mit den Wassern von Puṣkara.

Word by Word

• दिवाकरकरैः: by the sun’s rays
• दिवाकरकरैः: करण (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवाकर-कर (प्रातिपदिक; दिवाकरस्य कराः)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण/Instrumental), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषसमास (दिवाकरस्य कराः)

• स्पृष्टम्: touched
• स्पृष्टम्: कर्मणि-विशेषण (Object qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्पृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘तमः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• तमः: darkness
• तमः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन

• यद्वत्: just as
• यद्वत्: सम्बन्ध/उपमान (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद्वत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानार्थक-निपात (comparative particle: ‘just as’)

• प्रणश्यति: perishes, disappears
• प्रणश्यति: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• पुष्करोदकसंस्पर्शात्: from contact with Pushkara water
• पुष्करोदकसंस्पर्शात्: अपादान (Source/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्कर-उदक-संस्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचन; बहु-तत्पुरुषसमास (पुष्करस्य उदकस्य संस्पर्शः)

• शीघ्रम्: quickly
• शीघ्रम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शीघ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• गच्छति: goes away, departs
• गच्छति: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• पातकम्: sin
• पातकम्: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; ‘गच्छति’ इत्यस्य कर्ता (अर्थतः ‘पापं नश्यति’)

Speaker

Skanda (contextual attribution within Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Puṣkara

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim touches the shimmering Puṣkara waters as sunrays strike the lake; darkness-like smoke representing pāpa dissolves into light.

Characters & Entities

• Puṣkara
• Puṣkara water
• Divākara (Sun)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contact with sanctity is transformative: Puṣkara’s waters are likened to sunlight that dispels inner darkness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Puṣkara tīrtha, specifically its sacred water (puṣkarodaka).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Saṃsparśa/snān with Puṣkara water is recommended as a rapid purifier of sin.