Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

ततस्तु प्रातरुत्थाय कृत्वांत्यजमयं वपुः । शोधयामास कृच्छ्रेण मलोत्सर्गनिकेतनम्

Transliteration

tatastu prātarutthāya kṛtvāṃtyajamayaṃ vapuḥ | śodhayāmāsa kṛcchreṇa malotsarganiketanam

Translation

Then, rising at dawn and taking on a body like that of an outcaste, he toiled to cleanse the place set apart for the casting away of filth.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Deshika/Kalika (देश/काल-अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रयोग (adverb: ‘then/from there’)

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• प्रातर्: in the morning
• प्रातर्: Kaladhikarana (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रातर् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• उत्थाय: having risen
• उत्थाय: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत्-स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); धातुः—स्था, उपसर्गः—उत्; ‘having risen’

• कृत्वा: having made/done
• कृत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); धातुः—कृ; ‘having done/made’

• अन्त्यजमयम्: made of an outcaste (impure)
• अन्त्यजमयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्त्यज + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (अन्त्यजस्य मयम् = ‘made of/consisting of an outcaste’)

• वपुः: body
• वपुः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वपुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (वपुः-शब्दः; acc. sg. = वपुः)

• शोधयामास: he purified/cleaned
• शोधयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शुध्/शुच् → शोधय (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिप्रास/परफेक्ट-प्रयोगः ‘-आमास’), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; causative (णिच्) of √शुध्/√शुच् ‘to purify/clean’

• कृच्छ्रेण: with difficulty
• कृच्छ्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृच्छ्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (प्रयोगे), तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे—‘with difficulty’

• मलोत्सर्गनिकेतनम्: the latrine/excretion place
• मलोत्सर्गनिकेतनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मल + उत्सर्ग + निकेतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (मलस्य उत्सर्गस्य निकेतनम् = ‘place for excretion of filth’)

Speaker

Sūta (narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn, Devaśarmā (or the ‘lord of the earth’ in later verse) appears in an outcaste-like guise, scrubbing a foul place with effort—an image of radical humility and purification.

Characters & Entities

• rājā (the king)
• antyaja (outcaste)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma may require radical humility; sincere effort and service can become a form of inner purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; the tīrtha-māhātmya frame continues through the king’s transformative conduct.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not a formal rite; the act described functions as a severe self-discipline akin to prāyaścitta (expiatory effort).