Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

चातुर्मास्युपवासी यो यस्य प्रांगणिको भवेत् । सोऽपि हत्यासहस्राणि त्यक्त्वा निष्कल्मषो भवेत्

Transliteration

cāturmāsyupavāsī yo yasya prāṃgaṇiko bhavet | so'pi hatyāsahasrāṇi tyaktvā niṣkalmaṣo bhavet

Translation

Celui qui observe le jeûne de Cāturmāsya et devient résident ou serviteur dans la cour de la maison d’autrui, même lui, après avoir abandonné des milliers d’actes de meurtre, devient sans souillure.

Word by Word

• चातुर्मास्युपवासी: one who fasts during Cāturmāsya
• चातुर्मास्युपवासी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य + उपवासी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (चातुर्मास्ये उपवासी) (nom sg)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (relative pronoun)

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन (genitive singular relative pronoun)

• प्राङ्गणिकः: a resident/attendant of the courtyard (household associate)
• प्राङ्गणिकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राङ्गणिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (nominative singular)

• भवेत्: may be
• भवेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• अपि: also, even
• अपि: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (inclusion/also)

• हत्यासहस्राणि: thousands of killings (sins)
• हत्यासहस्राणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हत्या + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (हत्यानां सहस्राणि) (acc pl)

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned
• त्यक्त्वा: Kriya (Non-finite/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: त्यज् (धातु) → त्यक्त्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• निष्कल्मषः: free from impurity/sinless
• निष्कल्मषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निष्कल्मष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण (nom sg adjective)

• भवेत्: may become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rainy-season Cāturmāsya: a devotee living simply in a courtyard, serving a dharmic household, performing daily worship; crimson stains symbolizing ‘hatyā’ wash away into clear water, leaving a stainless aura.

Characters & Entities

• Cāturmāsya
• Upavāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The vow’s purificatory power is so great that even those with heavy karmic burdens can become spotless through disciplined observance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse foregrounds vrata-mahātmya (greatness of the vow) within the tīrtha narrative rather than naming a site explicitly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Cāturmāsya upavāsa (fasting/abstinence during the four-month period) is prescribed as a purifier of severe sins.