Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

रजकेन यथा धौतं वस्त्रं भवति निर्मलम् । तथासौ निर्मलो जातो धर्मराजो युधिष्ठिर

Transliteration

rajakena yathā dhautaṃ vastraṃ bhavati nirmalam | tathāsau nirmalo jāto dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhira

Translation

De même qu’un vêtement lavé par le blanchisseur devient sans tache, ainsi ce Dharmarāja fut purifié, ô Yudhiṣṭhira.

Word by Word

• रजकेन: by a washerman
• रजकेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• यथा: as
• यथा: Upamana marker (Comparison)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (comparative particle: ‘as’)

• धौतम्: washed
• धौतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धाव्/धौ (धातु) + त (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वस्त्रम्)

• वस्त्रम्: cloth
• वस्त्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भवति: becomes
• भवति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• निर्मलम्: clean, pure
• निर्मलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वस्त्रम्)

• तथा: so, likewise
• तथा: Correlation marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तदनुरूपवाचक (correlative: ‘so/likewise’)

• असौ: that person / he
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• निर्मलः: pure
• निर्मलः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (असौ)

• जातः: became
• जातः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) + त (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘became/was born’

• धर्मराजः: Dharmarāja
• धर्मराजः: Apposition (सम्बन्ध/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मराज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—धर्मस्य राजा (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• युधिष्ठिर: O Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (explicitly addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: a washerman beating and rinsing a cloth at the riverbank, juxtaposed with a kingly figure (Dharmarāja) emerging radiant and purified after bathing in Revā.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Dharmarāja (contextual epithet for the virtuous king/father figure)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification is both practical and spiritual: as washing removes external stain, sacred practice removes inner impurity when guided by dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly the Narmadā tīrtha context continues; this verse emphasizes the effect (purification) rather than naming the site again.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new prescription; it reinforces the purificatory result associated with tīrtha practice (especially snāna).