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

He who, with a purified soul, performs bathing before Nārāyaṇa—at holy fields, tīrthas, and rivers—especially during Cāturmāsya, is extolled for that act.

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.