Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

विहाय दुःखमकरोद्गात्रक्षालनमंबुना । तीरे पद्मासनं बद्ध्वा कृत्वा निर्विषयं मनः

Transliteration

vihāya duḥkhamakarodgātrakṣālanamaṃbunā | tīre padmāsanaṃ baddhvā kṛtvā nirviṣayaṃ manaḥ

Translation

Rejetant le chagrin, elle lava ses membres avec de l'eau. Sur la rive, elle prit la posture du lotus, libérant son esprit des objets des sens.

Word by Word

• विहाय: having abandoned
• विहाय: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-हā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः; धातु: हा (त्यागे) उपसर्ग: वि-; अर्थे: ‘having abandoned’

• दुःखम्: sorrow, suffering
• दुःखम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• अकरोत्: did, performed
• अकरोत्: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• गात्र-क्षालनम्: washing of the limbs
• गात्र-क्षालनम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गात्र (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षालन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (gātrasya kṣālanam), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अम्बुना: with water
• अम्बुना: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्बु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• तीरे: on the bank/shore
• तीरे: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• पद्मासनम्: lotus-posture seat (padmāsana)
• पद्मासनम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद्म (प्रातिपदिक) + आसन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (padmasya āsanam), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• बद्ध्वा: having bound/assumed
• बद्ध्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: बन्ध् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः; धातु: बन्ध् (बन्धने)

• कृत्वा: having made
• कृत्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः

• निर्विषयम्: free from objects (of sense)
• निर्विषयम्: Karma (Object complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्विषय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying मनः)

• मनः: mind
• मनः: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solitary woman at a riverbank, having washed, sits in padmāsana on clean sand/stone steps; the water is calm, with lotuses and a soft dawn light; her gaze is inward, senses withdrawn.

Characters & Entities

• Vṛndā
• Tīra (bank)
• Saraḥ (lake/pond)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-practice unites outer purification (snāna) with inner purification (sense-withdrawal and meditation), turning grief into spiritual resolve.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate sacred setting is the lake (saraḥ) and its bank (tīra) within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s tīrtha narrative; the proper tīrtha-name is not stated in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bodily washing with water (snāna/śauca) and meditative discipline: sitting in padmāsana and making the mind nirviṣaya (withdrawn from sense-objects).