Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

विहाय मूषको त्खातां चोच्छिष्टां केशसंकुलाम् । गुह्ये दद्यान्मृदं चैकां प्रक्षाल्य चांबुना ततः

Transliteration

vihāya mūṣako tkhātāṃ cocchiṣṭāṃ keśasaṃkulām | guhye dadyānmṛdaṃ caikāṃ prakṣālya cāṃbunā tataḥ

Translation

Qu’on évite la terre creusée par les rats, souillée par des restes, ou mêlée de cheveux. Qu’on applique une seule portion de terre aux parties secrètes, puis qu’on les lave ensuite avec de l’eau.

Word by Word

• vihāya: having avoided/left aside
• vihāya: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√hā (हा धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive)

• mūṣaka-utkhātām: dug up by a mouse
• mūṣaka-utkhātām: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūṣaka (प्रातिपदिक) + utkhāta (ud-√khan धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (mṛdam implied)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• ucchiṣṭām: defiled/leftover-contaminated
• ucchiṣṭām: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ucchiṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (mṛdam implied)

• keśa-saṃkulām: mixed with hairs
• keśa-saṃkulām: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: keśa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (mṛdam implied)

• guhye: on the private part
• guhye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• dadyāt: should apply/give
• dadyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (दा धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

• mṛdam: clay
• mṛdam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛd (मृद् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• ekām: one (lump/portion)
• ekām: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (mṛdam)

• prakṣālya: having washed
• prakṣālya: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√kṣāl (क्षाल् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• ambunā: with water
• ambunā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ambu (अम्बु प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb) — अनन्तर/तस्मात्-अर्थे

Speaker

Anonymous Purāṇic narrator (Dharmāraṇya instructional passage; speaker not explicit in the excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic ‘choice’ scene: three rejected earth sources shown—rat burrow mound, refuse/leftover area, hair-tangled dirt—contrasted with a clean patch. The practitioner takes a small portion and then pours water to wash.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification requires discernment—one must avoid contaminated materials and complete cleansing properly with water.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific sacred site is praised in this verse; it focuses on procedural śauca.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Avoid impure earth (rat-dug, leftover-tainted, hair-mixed); apply one portion of earth and then wash with water.