Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

कालुष्यं ब्रह्मसम्भूता संवत्सरसमुद्भवम् । प्रक्षालयितुमायाति दशम्यामाश्विनस्य च

Transliteration

kāluṣyaṃ brahmasambhūtā saṃvatsarasamudbhavam | prakṣālayitumāyāti daśamyāmāśvinasya ca

Translation

Née de Brahmā, elle vient le dixième jour d’Āśvina pour laver la souillure amassée au cours de l’année.

Word by Word

• कालुष्यं: impurity, defilement
• कालुष्यं: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ब्रह्मसम्भूता: born of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मसम्भूता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मसम्भूत (प्रातिपदिक; ब्रह्म + सम्भूत)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; समासः तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मणः सम्भूता)

• संवत्सरसमुद्भवम्: arising over a year / annual (accumulated)
• संवत्सरसमुद्भवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संवत्सरसमुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक; संवत्सर + समुद्भव)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (संवत्सरात् समुद्भवम्)

• प्रक्षालयितुम्: to wash away
• प्रक्षालयितुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + क्षल् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive/तुमन्त); प्रयोजनार्थकः

• आयाति: comes
• आयाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• दशम्याम्: on the tenth (lunar day)
• दशम्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दशमी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• आश्विनस्य: of Āśvina (month)
• आश्विनस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्विन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Daśāśvamedha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A personified sacred force ‘born of Brahmā’ descending on Āśvina daśamī to the river-tīrtha, washing away a dark veil of yearly impurity; imagery of calendrical wheel and cleansing waters.

Characters & Entities

• Sarasvatī
• Brahmā
• Āśvina (month)
• Daśamī (tithi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time (tithi) and sacred place (tīrtha) converge—ritual purification is intensified when performed on auspicious calendrical moments.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Daśāśvamedha tīrtha context continues, where Sarasvatī’s purifying arrival is described.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The Āśvina daśamī is singled out as a special time connected with cleansing impurities through sacred waters.