Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

नार्युवाच । माघशुक्लतृतीयायां नरो वा वनिता तथा । स्नानं यः कुरुते भक्त्या प्रीताः स्युः सर्वदेवताः

Transliteration

nāryuvāca | māghaśuklatṛtīyāyāṃ naro vā vanitā tathā | snānaṃ yaḥ kurute bhaktyā prītāḥ syuḥ sarvadevatāḥ

Translation

Die Frau sprach: „Am dritten Mondtag der hellen Monatshälfte im Māgha, ob Mann oder Frau: Wer in Hingabe das rituelle Bad vollzieht, durch diese Tat werden alle Götter erfreut.“

Word by Word

• nārī: the woman
• nārī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• māgha-śukla-tṛtīyāyām: on the third (lunar day) of the bright fortnight of Māgha
• māgha-śukla-tṛtīyāyām: Kāla-adhikarana (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māgha (प्रातिपदिक) + śukla (प्रातिपदिक) + tṛtīyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (माघस्य शुक्लपक्षस्य तृतीया)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive particle)

• vanitā: a woman
• vanitā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vanitā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tathā: likewise, also
• tathā: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/प्रकारवाचक (also/likewise)

• snānam: bathing
• snānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (relative pronoun)

• kurute: does, performs
• kurute: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• prītāḥ: pleased
• prītāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prī (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• syuḥ: would be / may become
• syuḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• sarva-devatāḥ: all the deities
• sarva-devatāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: सर्वाः देवताः

Speaker

Nāri (a woman)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devoted woman speaks with clarity, describing the bright third of Māgha and the act of bathing that pleases all deities; imagery suggests dawn, sacred waters, and a simple devotional bath accessible to anyone.

Characters & Entities

• Māgha (month)
• Sarva-devatāḥ (all deities)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional observance (bhakti-yukta snāna) on an auspicious tithi harmonizes the worshipper with the divine order, pleasing all deities.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse highlights the Māgha-śukla-tṛtīyā bath; the specific jalāśaya/tīrtha is indicated in the surrounding Arbuda-khaṇḍa narrative (clarified in later verses).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A devotional ritual bath (snāna) on Māgha bright fortnight, third lunar day (tṛtīyā).