Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

नित्यांबुप्राशनकरश्चातुर्मास्ये यदा भवेत् । दिनेदिनेऽश्वमेधस्य फलमाप्नोत्यसंशयम्

Transliteration

nityāṃbuprāśanakaraścāturmāsye yadā bhavet | dinedine'śvamedhasya phalamāpnotyasaṃśayam

Translation

Si, durant le Cāturmāsya, quelqu’un observe chaque jour la pratique de ne boire que de l’eau, alors, jour après jour, il obtient le fruit du sacrifice Aśvamedha, sans aucun doute.

Word by Word

• नित्याम्बुप्राशनकरः: one who regularly drinks water (only)
• नित्याम्बुप्राशनकरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अम्बु (प्रातिपदिक) + प्राशन (प्रा+अश्-धातु/प्रातिपदिक) + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (नित्यं अम्बु प्राशनं करोति इति)

• चातुर्मास्ये: during the four-month observance
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Time/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (चत्वारः मासाः यस्य/चातुर्मास्यम्)

• यदा: when
• यदा: Kala (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक-सम्बन्ध, ‘when’)

• भवेत्: should be / becomes
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिङ्-लकार (Potential/Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• दिने: in a day
• दिने: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• दिने: day by day
• दिने: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (दिने दिने = प्रतिदिनम्)

• अश्वमेधस्य: of the Aśvamedha sacrifice
• अश्वमेधस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (अश्वस्य मेधः)

• फलम्: fruit, result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• आप्नोति: attains
• आप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• असंशयम्: without doubt
• असंशयम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: असंशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण; नञ्-पूर्वक)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa māhātmya-style instruction)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee in simple cloth sits near a sacred waterbody during monsoon months, holding a small kamaṇḍalu, sipping only water at dawn; in the background, a symbolic Aśvamedha horse and yajña-vedī appear as a visionary equivalence of merit.

Characters & Entities

• Aśvamedha
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Intense self-restraint in the sacred season is exalted as producing merit comparable to the greatest Vedic sacrifices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is vrata-focused and does not explicitly identify a tīrtha by name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nityāmbu-prāśana: a discipline of taking only water daily during Cāturmāsya.