Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

वत्स लक्ष्मण शुश्रूषां विप्राणां श्राद्धसंभवाम् । पादप्रक्षालनाद्यां त्वं यथावत्कर्तुमर्हसि

Transliteration

vatsa lakṣmaṇa śuśrūṣāṃ viprāṇāṃ śrāddhasaṃbhavām | pādaprakṣālanādyāṃ tvaṃ yathāvatkartumarhasi

Translation

Cher Lakṣmaṇa, au moment du śrāddha, tu dois accomplir comme il se doit le service dû aux brāhmaṇas, en commençant par le lavage de leurs pieds et les autres gestes rituels.

Word by Word

• वत्स: dear child
• वत्स: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्स (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; स्नेहसम्बोधन

• लक्ष्मण: O Lakshmana
• लक्ष्मण: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• शुश्रूषाम्: service, attendance
• शुश्रूषाम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुश्रूषा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म

• विप्राणाम्: of the Brahmins
• विप्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध: शुश्रूषा (of the Brahmins)

• श्राद्धसम्भवाम्: arising from the śrāddha (rite)
• श्राद्धसम्भवाम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्राद्ध + सम्भवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण: शुश्रूषाम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'श्राद्धात् सम्भवा' = arising from/connected with śrāddha

• पादप्रक्षालनाद्याम्: (such as) washing the feet and the like
• पादप्रक्षालनाद्याम्: Karma (Object/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद + प्रक्षालन + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; '...आद्याम्' = beginning with; कर्म; समास: पादप्रक्षालन (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष 'पादस्य प्रक्षालनम्') + आदि

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता

• यथावत्: properly
• यथावत्: Sambandha (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकारवाचक) = properly, duly

• कर्तुम्: to perform
• कर्तुम्: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कर्तुम् (कृदन्त-तुमुन्)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive) = to do/perform

• अर्हसि: you should/are fit to
• अर्हसि: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह् (धातु) → अर्हसि (तिङन्त)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Rāma (Rāghava) addressing Lakṣmaṇa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Lakṣmaṇa kneels with a water vessel, washing the feet of seated brāhmaṇas in a śrāddha pavilion; Rāma stands nearby instructing with calm authority.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma (Rāghava)
• Lakṣmaṇa
• brāhmaṇas (vipras)
• śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha is upheld through reverent hospitality—service to worthy brāhmaṇas is treated as a dharmic act supporting ancestral rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader chapter is within a Tīrthamāhātmya, but this verse focuses on śrāddha conduct rather than naming a specific site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Service to brāhmaṇas during śrāddha, explicitly including pāda-prakṣālana (washing of the feet) and related customary honors.