Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

यथा जलाच्च जंबालः कृष्यते धार्मिकैर्नृभिः । एवमुद्धरते साध्वी भर्त्तारं याऽनुग च्छति

Transliteration

yathā jalācca jaṃbālaḥ kṛṣyate dhārmikairnṛbhiḥ | evamuddharate sādhvī bharttāraṃ yā'nuga cchati

Translation

ಧರ್ಮನಿಷ್ಠರಾದ ಪುರುಷರು ನೀರಿನಿಂದ ಕೆಸರನ್ನು ಎತ್ತಿ ಹೊರತೆಗೆದಂತೆ, ಭರ್ತಾರನನ್ನು ಅನುಸರಿಸುವ ಪತಿವ್ರತಾ ಸಾಧ್ವಿ ತನ್ನ ಪತಿಯನ್ನು ಉದ್ಧರಿಸುತ್ತಾಳೆ।

Word by Word

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानार्थक (as/just as)

• jalāt: from water
• jalāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (and)

• jaṃbālaḥ: mud/slush
• jaṃbālaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaṃbāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• kṛṣyate: is drawn out/removed
• kṛṣyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• dhārmikaiḥ: by righteous
• dhārmikaiḥ: Karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhārmika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• nṛbhiḥ: men
• nṛbhiḥ: Karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• evam: thus
• evam: Sambandha (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारार्थक (thus/in this way)

• uddharate: rescues/uplifts
• uddharate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud√hṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• sādhvī: the virtuous woman
• sādhvī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhvī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• bhartāram: husband
• bhartāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhartṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• yā: she who
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यत्

• anugacchati: follows
• anugacchati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu√gam (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A riverside tīrtha: a righteous man draws mud from clear water while beside him a devoted wife supports her husband, symbolically lifting him from moral impurity; pilgrims and a small shrine in the background.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Virtue is portrayed as a rescuing power: steadfast righteousness can ‘raise’ another from a fallen state.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a moral-illustrative statement within the Tīrthamāhātmya flow.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse uses a simile to praise dharmic fidelity rather than prescribing a rite.