Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

माघकृष्णचतुर्दश्यां तत्र स्नानं विशेषतः । दानं च मनुजैः कार्य्यं सर्वपापविशुद्धये

Transliteration

māghakṛṣṇacaturdaśyāṃ tatra snānaṃ viśeṣataḥ | dānaṃ ca manujaiḥ kāryyaṃ sarvapāpaviśuddhaye

Translation

On the fourteenth lunar day of the dark fortnight of Māgha, bathing there is especially efficacious; and people should also give charity for the complete purification of all sins.

Word by Word

• māgha-kṛṣṇa-caturdaśyām: on the Māgha dark-fortnight fourteenth (tithi)
• māgha-kṛṣṇa-caturdaśyām: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māgha (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः (विशेष्य-विशेषणभावः) — ‘माघमासस्य कृष्णपक्षस्य चतुर्दशी’

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• snānam: bathing
• snānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• viśeṣataḥ: especially
• viśeṣataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣatas (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

• dānam: charitable giving
• dānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• manujaiḥ: by people
• manujaiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• kāryam: should be done
• kāryam: Vidhi (विधि)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्/यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Gerundive/Obligatory), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — ‘कर्तव्यम्’

• sarvapāpa-viśuddhaye: for the purification from all sins
• sarvapāpa-viśuddhaye: Sampradana/Purpose (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + viśuddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (sarveṣāṃ pāpānāṃ viśuddhiḥ)

Speaker

Brahmā (deduced; Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa Ayodhyāmāhātmya dialogic style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarayū-snānā in Ayodhyā (contextual)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims at Sarayū ghāṭa in Māgha’s cool dawn: men and women performing snāna, offering arghya, then giving dāna to brāhmaṇas and the poor; Ayodhyā’s sacred skyline in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Māgha
• Kṛṣṇa Caturdaśī
• snāna
• dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time (tithi) amplifies sacred place (tīrtha); charity and bathing together purify the practitioner.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse refers to bathing “there,” i.e., at Ayodhyā’s Pāpamocana Tīrtha in the narrative context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform snāna at the tīrtha on Māgha Kṛṣṇa Caturdaśī and do dāna for sarva-pāpa-viśuddhi.