Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

दिवाविहितशौचाच्च रात्रावर्द्धं समाचरेत् । परग्रामे तदर्धं च पथि तस्यार्धमेव च

Transliteration

divāvihitaśaucācca rātrāvarddhaṃ samācaret | paragrāme tadardhaṃ ca pathi tasyārdhameva ca

Translation

പകൽവിധിച്ച ശൗചം രാത്രിയിൽ അർദ്ധമാത്രം ആചരിക്കണം. പരഗ്രാമത്തിൽ അതിന്റെ അർദ്ധം, വഴിയിൽ അതിന്റെയും അർദ്ധമേ ചെയ്യണം.

Word by Word

• दिवा: by day
• दिवा: अधिकरण (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिवा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: by day)

• विहित: prescribed
• विहित: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + धा (धातु) → विहित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-एकवचनार्थे समासपूर्वपदत्वेन (as prior member)

• शौचात्: from/after purification
• शौचात्: अपादान (Source/Reason-from)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शौच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• रात्रौ: at night
• रात्रौ: अधिकरण (Location/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• अर्द्धम्: half
• अर्द्धम्: कर्म (Object/Measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्द्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; परिमाणवाचक (measure)

• समाचरेत्: should perform/practise
• समाचरेत्: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + चर् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• परग्रामे: in another village
• परग्रामे: अधिकरण (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर + ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (परस्य ग्रामः), पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देशक (demonstrative)

• अर्धम्: half
• अर्धम्: कर्म (Object/Measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्द्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; परिमाणवाचक

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• पथि: on the road
• पथि: अधिकरण (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पथिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन (irregular stem पथिन् → पथि)

• तस्य: of that
• तस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• अर्धम्: half
• अर्धम्: कर्म (Object/Measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्द्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; परिमाणवाचक

• एव: only/just
• एव: अवधारण (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Anonymous Purāṇic narrator (Dharmāraṇya instructional passage; speaker not explicit in the excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A traveler at dusk performs reduced purification by a roadside, then again in a foreign village courtyard—showing graded practice by setting (night, paragrāma, patha).

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is practical: standards of purification are adapted to time and circumstance without abandoning cleanliness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse addresses travel circumstances generally.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform half the daytime śauca at night; in another village do half of that; on the road do half again.