Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

ततः प्रभातां रजनीं दृष्ट्वा नत्वा महोदधिम् । आमन्त्र्य स्नानविधिना स्नानं तत्र तु कारयेत्

Transliteration

tataḥ prabhātāṃ rajanīṃ dṛṣṭvā natvā mahodadhim | āmantrya snānavidhinā snānaṃ tatra tu kārayet

Translation

Ensuite, voyant la nuit se changer en aurore, après s’être incliné devant le grand océan, qu’il l’invoque et, selon le rite du bain, accomplisse là l’ablution.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अपादान/क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (Adverb: thereafter/from that)

• प्रभाताम्: dawn (as having come)
• प्रभाताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभाता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Accusative, Singular)

• रजनीम्: night
• रजनीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Accusative, Singular)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive)

• नत्वा: having bowed
• नत्वा: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नम् (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive)

• महोदधिम्: the great ocean
• महोदधिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-उदधि (प्रातिपदिक); महा (विशेषण) + उदधि (नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

• आमन्त्र्य: having invoked/addressed
• आमन्त्र्य: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√मन्त्र् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यबन्त-अव्यय (Gerund in -ya/Absolutive)

• स्नानविधिना: by the bathing procedure/rite
• स्नानविधिना: Karaṇa (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान-विधि (प्रातिपदिक); स्नान (नाम) + विधि (नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Singular)

• स्नानम्: bath
• स्नानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (Adverb of place)

• तु: indeed, but
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपात (Particle)

• कारयेत्: should cause to be done / should have (it) performed
• कारयेत्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु) (णिच् causative: कारय)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोग (Causative) (3rd person, Singular)

Speaker

Śiva (Śaṅkara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahodadhi-snānīya tīrtha (ocean-bathing spot)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at the seashore just before sunrise, palms joined toward the vast ocean; the sky shifts from night to saffron dawn; ritual vessels and cloth lie neatly on the sand.

Characters & Entities

• Mahodadhi (Ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual purity is joined with reverence for sacred waters, treating the ocean as a divine presence to be respectfully invoked.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The mahodadhi (ocean) as a sacred tīrtha for snāna, invoked as a deity-like locus of purification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bow to the ocean at dawn, perform āmantraṇa (invocation), then bathe following the prescribed snāna-vidhi.