Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अथापश्यन्महात्मा स सुपुण्यं तद्गयाशिरः । स्नात्वा श्राद्धं च विधिवद्यावच्छ्रद्धासम न्वितः

Transliteration

athāpaśyanmahātmā sa supuṇyaṃ tadgayāśiraḥ | snātvā śrāddhaṃ ca vidhivadyāvacchraddhāsama nvitaḥ

Translation

Thereupon that great-souled one beheld the exceedingly meritorious Gayāśiras. Having bathed, he performed the śrāddha duly, with full faith.

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Discourse (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (then/now)

• apaśyat: saw
• apaśyat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; धातु: दृश् (to see)

• mahātmā: the great-souled one
• mahātmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• su-puṇyam: very holy
• su-puṇyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying tad-gayā-śiraḥ)

• tad-gayā-śiraḥ: that Gayā-peak/head (place)
• tad-gayā-śiraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + gayā (प्रातिपदिक) + śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (gayāyāḥ śiraḥ; 'the head/peak of Gayā'; tad = 'that')

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; धातु: स्ना (to bathe)

• śrāddham: śrāddha rite
• śrāddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• vidhivat: according to the prescribed rule
• vidhivat: Manner (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vidhi-vat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb: 'according to rule')

• yāvat: as much as, to the extent that
• yāvat: Extent (परिमाण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-वाचक (as long as/so much)

• śraddhā-samanvitaḥ: endowed with faith
• śraddhā-samanvitaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śraddhā (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (प्रातिपदिक; √i 'to go' with sam-anv-?)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying mahātmā/saḥ); समासः—तत्पुरुष (śraddhayā samanvita = endowed with faith)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; specific speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gayāśiras

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A venerable hero-sage figure stands at a sacred headland/raised spot called Gayāśiras; he bathes, then performs śrāddha with offerings—water libations, piṇḍas, kusa grass—surrounded by a sanctified natural setting.

Characters & Entities

• Gayāśiras
• śrāddha
• snāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faithful performance of prescribed rites at a sacred place transforms travel into dharma, especially through ancestral offerings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gayāśiras is praised as supremely meritorious, associated with bathing and śrāddha for pitṛs.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bath) followed by vidhivat śrāddha (properly performed ancestral rite) with śraddhā (faith).