Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

ततो बुभुक्षयाविष्टा बिसान्यादाय भूरिशः । तीरे निक्षिप्य सरसश्चक्रुः पुण्यां जल क्रियाम्

Transliteration

tato bubhukṣayāviṣṭā bisānyādāya bhūriśaḥ | tīre nikṣipya sarasaścakruḥ puṇyāṃ jala kriyām

Translation

Puis, saisis par la faim, ils cueillirent en grand nombre des tiges de lotus ; les déposant sur la rive du lac, ils accomplirent un rite d’eau méritoire.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): ‘thereupon/then’

• bubhukṣayā: by hunger
• bubhukṣayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bubhukṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; ‘by/with hunger’

• āviṣṭāḥ: overcome, seized
• āviṣṭāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-viś (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘overcome/possessed’ (agreeing with implied subject)

• bisāni: lotus-stalks
• bisāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bisa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; ‘lotus-stalks/fibres’

• ādāya: having taken
• ādāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-√dā (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त/अव्ययभाव)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्यय (absolutive): ‘having taken’

• bhūriśaḥ: in abundance
• bhūriśaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhūriśas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): ‘abundantly/in plenty’

• tīre: on the bank
• tīre: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (or पुल्लिङ्ग usage), सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; ‘on the bank’

• nikṣipya: having placed
• nikṣipya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ni-√kṣip (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्यय (absolutive): ‘having placed/laid down’

• sarasaḥ: of the lake
• sarasaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; ‘of the lake’

• cakruḥ: they performed
• cakruḥ: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘they did/made’

• puṇyām: holy, meritorious
• puṇyām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण of ‘kriyām’

• jala: water
• jala: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, (समासपूर्वपद/उपपद) अव्यक्त-विभक्ति; ‘water’ used attributively with ‘kriyām’

• kriyām: rite, ritual act
• kriyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; ‘rite/act’

Speaker

Narrative voice

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of ascetic sages on a lotus-filled lake: they harvest pale lotus-stalks, place bundles on the bank, then enter the water to perform a solemn jalakriyā.

Characters & Entities

• Cāmatkārapura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even amid bodily needs, pilgrims sanctify actions through tīrtha-rites; water-rituals purify and generate puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sacred lake (saras) reached in the Cāmatkārapura-kṣetra setting is the implied tīrtha where the water-rite is done.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Puṇyā jala-kriyā—performing a holy water-rite (typically involving snāna/ācamana/tarpana-like acts depending on context).