Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

स्नाने जपे च होमे च स्वाध्याये पितृतर्पणे । गोदेवातिथिपूजासु निरालस्यो भवानघ

Transliteration

snāne jape ca home ca svādhyāye pitṛtarpaṇe | godevātithipūjāsu nirālasyo bhavānagha

Translation

ഹേ നിർമലനേ! സ്നാനം, ജപം, ഹോമം, സ്വാധ്യായം, പിതൃതർപ്പണം, കൂടാതെ ഗോ-ദേവ-അതിഥി പൂജകളിൽ ആലസ്യം വിട്ട് ഉത്സാഹത്തോടെ ഇരിക്കണം।

Word by Word

• स्नाने: in bathing
• स्नाने: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरणे (in the act/occasion of bathing)

• जपे: in japa (recitation)
• जपे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरणे

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• होमे: in homa (fire-offering)
• होमे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: होम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरणे

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• स्वाध्याये: in self-study (Vedic study)
• स्वाध्याये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वाध्याय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरणे

• पितृतर्पणे: in offering libations to the ancestors
• पितृतर्पणे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ + तर्पण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पितॄणां तर्पणम्); अधिकरणे

• गोदेवातिथिपूजासु: in the worship of cows, gods, and guests
• गोदेवातिथिपूजासु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो + देव + अतिथि + पूजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्व/समुच्चयार्थ-समास (गो-देव-अतिथि-पूजा); अधिकरणे

• निरालस्यः: free from laziness
• निरालस्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + आलस्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (free from laziness)

• भव: be
• भव: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अनघ: O sinless one
• अनघ: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; संबोधन (address)

Speaker

Unspecified elder/teacher figure in Brahmottarakhaṇḍa (didactic instruction)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A disciplined householder at dawn: bathing at a riverbank, performing japa with a mālā, tending a small homa-fire, reading a palm-leaf manuscript, offering water to pitṛs, feeding a cow, worshipping a small shrine, and welcoming a guest with water and seat.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛ
• Go (cow)
• Deva
• Atithi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is sustained by steady daily practice—ritual discipline, study, ancestor offerings, and reverent hospitality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is named; the emphasis is on nitya-karma (daily observances).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna, japa, homa, svādhyāya, pitṛ-tarpaṇa, and pūjā to cow/Deva/guest are explicitly prescribed.