Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

या नारी प्रातरुत्थाय तत्र स्नानं समाचरेत् । सा स्याद्रूपवती नूनमदृष्टे रविमंडले

Transliteration

yā nārī prātarutthāya tatra snānaṃ samācaret | sā syādrūpavatī nūnamadṛṣṭe ravimaṃḍale

Translation

« Toute femme qui se lève à l’aube et s’y baigne deviendra assurément belle—avant même d’avoir contemplé le disque du soleil. »

Word by Word

• या: who (she who)
• या: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• नारी: woman
• नारी: Karta (Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रातः: in the morning
• प्रातः: Kāla (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रातः (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (time adverb)

• उत्थाय: having risen
• उत्थाय: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उत्-स्था (धातु) → उत्थाय (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having risen)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय

• स्नानम्: bathing
• स्नानम्: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• समाचरेत्: should perform
• समाचरेत्: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-चर् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अन्वादेश (correlative pronoun)

• स्यात्: would become
• स्यात्: Kriyā (Result)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• रूपवती: beautiful
• रूपवती: Predicate adjective
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रूपवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नूनम्: surely
• नूनम्: Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नूनम् (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (certainly)

• अदृष्टे: when (it is) unseen
• अदृष्टे: Adhikaraṇa (Condition/Location)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-दृष्ट (प्रातिपदिक; √दृश् + क्त, with negation)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; ‘when not seen’

• रविमण्डले: in the sun’s orb
• रविमण्डले: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रवि-मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक; रवि + मण्डल)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (रवेः मण्डलम्)

Speaker

Pārvatī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Rūpatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Tilottamā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At pre-sunrise twilight, a woman pilgrim steps into clear water at Rūpatīrtha; the sun is not yet visible, the sky is indigo, and the water glows faintly—suggesting the promised transformation before seeing the sun-disc.

Characters & Entities

• Rūpatīrtha
• Pārvatī
• Ravi (Sun)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Disciplined sacred practice—rising early and bathing at a tīrtha—channels divine blessing into tangible well-being.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Rūpatīrtha, famed for granting rūpa (beauty/pleasing form).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prātaḥ-utthāna (rising early) and snāna at the tīrtha, ideally before sunrise.