Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

ततः क्षत्रियभार्याः प्रागृतुस्नानात्समाययुः । ब्राह्मणान्पुत्रजन्मार्थं न कामार्थं कथंचन

Transliteration

tataḥ kṣatriyabhāryāḥ prāgṛtusnānātsamāyayuḥ | brāhmaṇānputrajanmārthaṃ na kāmārthaṃ kathaṃcana

Translation

Alors les épouses des kṣatriya, après avoir d’abord accompli le bain rituel prescrit pour la saison, s’approchèrent des brahmanes afin d’engendrer des fils—jamais, en aucune manière, par désir sensuel.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Discourse/Temporal link (सम्बन्ध/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/अनन्तरम् (thereupon/then)

• क्षत्रियभार्याः: wives of Kṣatriyas
• क्षत्रियभार्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक) + भार्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (क्षत्रियाणां भार्याः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• प्राक्: before
• प्राक्: Temporal modifier (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्राक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पूर्वकालवाचक (before)

• ऋतुस्नानात्: from the (post-)menses bath / after the seasonal bath
• ऋतुस्नानात्: Apadana (Source/अपाादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋतु (प्रातिपदिक) + स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ऋतोः स्नानम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• समाययुः: they came/approached
• समाययुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√या (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• ब्राह्मणान्: Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• पुत्रजन्मार्थम्: for the purpose of begetting a son
• पुत्रजन्मार्थम्: Purpose (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + जन्मन्/जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पुत्रस्य जन्मनः अर्थः/प्रयोजनम्); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• कामार्थम्: for pleasure/desire
• कामार्थम्: Purpose (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी-तत्पुरुष (कामाय अर्थः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे

• कथंचन: in any way at all
• कथंचन: Adverbial modifier (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथंचन (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कदाचनार्थे/कथमपि (in any way at all)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Widowed or bereaved kṣatriya women perform seasonal bathing at a sacred waterbody at dawn, then approach seated brāhmaṇas with offerings, faces composed and resolute.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣatriya wives
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma distinguishes intention: actions oriented to lineage, duty, and social stability are praised over acts driven by mere desire.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage is moving toward a specific tīrtha (Vāsiṣṭha Kuṇḍa) whose snāna is said to grant conception.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ṛtu-snānā (a ritually appropriate bath connected with the season/period) is explicitly mentioned as a preparatory observance.