Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

कृष्णद्रव्याणि भूरीणि केशादीनि सहस्रशः । सर्वं तच्छुक्लतां याति त्यक्त्वा वर्णं मलीमसम्

Transliteration

kṛṣṇadravyāṇi bhūrīṇi keśādīni sahasraśaḥ | sarvaṃ tacchuklatāṃ yāti tyaktvā varṇaṃ malīmasam

Translation

D’innombrables matières noires—cheveux et autres—par milliers, y devinrent blanches; tout se changea en blancheur, abandonnant la teinte sombre et souillée.

Word by Word

• कृष्ण-द्रव्याणि: black substances/materials
• कृष्ण-द्रव्याणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + द्रव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समासः ‘कृष्णानि द्रव्याणि’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन (Plural)

• भूरीणि: many, abundant
• भूरीणि: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन (Plural)

• केश-आदीनि: hair and the like
• केश-आदीनि: Apposition/Viseshya (In apposition to subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केश (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः ‘केशाः आदयः येषाम्/केशादीनि’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन (Plural)

• सहस्रशः: by thousands, in thousands
• सहस्रशः: Prakaraṇa (Manner/degree)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (distributive adverb)

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Singular)

• तत्-शुक्लताम्: that whiteness (state of being white)
• तत्-शुक्लताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + शुक्लता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः ‘तत्सम्बद्धा शुक्लता’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Singular)

• याति: goes to, becomes
• याति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned
• त्यक्त्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund)

• वर्णम्: color
• वर्णम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Singular)

• मलीमसम्: dirty, impure
• मलीमसम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मलीमस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Many devotees immerse bundles of dark items (hair, cloth, offerings); as they touch the water, they turn bright white; the water gleams, suggesting a divine alchemy of purity.

Characters & Entities

• Śuklatīrtha (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha’s power signifies purification—externally as ‘whiteness’ and internally as removal of impurity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śuklatīrtha, where even black objects are said to become white.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied: contact with the tīrtha and its waters (especially bathing) effects purification.