Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा ह्युपवासपरायणः । चैत्रमासे चतुर्दश्यां मदनस्य दिनेऽथवा

Transliteration

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā hyupavāsaparāyaṇaḥ | caitramāse caturdaśyāṃ madanasya dine'thavā

Translation

ആ തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ ആരെങ്കിലും സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത് ഉപവാസനിഷ്ഠനായി ഇരുന്നാൽ—ചൈത്രമാസത്തിലെ ചതുര്ദശിയിലോ, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ മദനൻ (കാമൻ)ക്ക് പവിത്രമായ ദിനത്തിലോ—

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• तीर्थे: at the sacred ford/place
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• तु: indeed; but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-निपात (particle: but/indeed)

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

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु) → स्नात्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive): ‘having bathed’

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• उपवासपरायणः: devoted to fasting
• उपवासपरायणः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपवास + परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (उपवासे परायणः = devoted to fasting)

• चैत्रमासे: in the month of Caitra
• चैत्रमासे: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चैत्र + मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (चैत्रः मासः)

• चतुर्दश्याम्: on the fourteenth lunar day
• चतुर्दश्याम्: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• मदनस्य: of Madana (Kāmadeva)
• मदनस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मदन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• दिने: on the day
• दिने: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• अथवा: or else
• अथवा: Sambandha (Alternative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथवा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive: or)

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kusumeśvara-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (Rājendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims at a river-tīrtha undertake a vow of fasting; the lunar date is marked; they prepare for ritual bathing at Kusumeśvara-tīrtha under springtime Caitra skies.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha (Kusumeśvara context)
• Caitra (month)
• Madana (Kāma/Kāmadeva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is completed by discipline: tīrtha-snānā and upavāsa transform a visit into dharmic merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The “tatra tīrtha” refers to the Kusumeśvara-associated tīrtha established in the preceding verse, within the Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) at the tīrtha along with upavāsa (fasting), especially on Caitra śukla/kr̥ṣṇa caturdaśī and/or Madana’s sacred day.