Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

आपातमाचरेच्छौचं भावदुष्टो न शुद्धिभाक् । आर्द्रधात्रीफलोन्माना मृदः शौचे प्रकीर्तिताः

Transliteration

āpātamācarecchaucaṃ bhāvaduṣṭo na śuddhibhāk | ārdradhātrīphalonmānā mṛdaḥ śauce prakīrtitāḥ

Translation

സാഹചര്യാനുസാരം ശൗചം ആചരിക്കണം; എന്നാൽ അന്തർഭാവം ദുഷ്ടനായവൻ യഥാർത്ഥ ശുദ്ധി പ്രാപിക്കുകയില്ല. ശൗചത്തിൽ മണ്ണിന്റെ അളവ് ഈർപ്പമുള്ള ധാത്രീഫലം (നെല്ലിക്ക) അളവെന്നു പ്രസ്താവിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• आपातम्: as far as possible / to the full extent
• आपातम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आपात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे 'आपातम्' = यथासम्भव/यावत्-शक्ति (as far as possible)

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

• शौचम्: purification
• शौचम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शौच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• भावदुष्टः: one whose intention/state is impure
• भावदुष्टः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भाव + दुष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (भावेन दुष्टः), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: निषेध (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation)

• शुद्धिभाक्: a recipient/attainer of purity
• शुद्धिभाक्: प्रेडिकेटिव (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुद्धि + भाक् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (शुद्धिं भजते/भाक्), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• आर्द्र: moist
• आर्द्र: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आर्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण-पूर्वपद (wet/moist), समासपूर्वपदत्वेन

• धात्री: āmalakī (emblic myrobalan)
• धात्री: समासाङ्ग (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धात्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (आमलकी/धात्री), समासाङ्ग

• फल: fruit
• फल: समासाङ्ग (Compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, समासाङ्ग (fruit)

• उन्मानाः: measured by (the size of) moist āmalakī fruits
• उन्मानाः: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उन्मान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (आर्द्र-धात्री-फलस्य उन्मानाः = measured by), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'मृदः' इत्यस्य विशेषण

• मृदः: clays/earth (for cleansing)
• मृदः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• शौचे: in purification
• शौचे: अधिकरण (Context)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शौच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• प्रकीर्तिताः: are declared/mentioned
• प्रकीर्तिताः: क्रिया/विधेय (Predication)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + कीर्त् (धातु) → प्रकीर्तित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) प्रयुक्तं विधेयवत्; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (मृदः इत्यस्य अन्वय)

Speaker

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

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim washes hands with earth and water, while a faint mirrored silhouette shows the ‘inner mind’—pure as light or clouded—illustrating that bhāva determines śuddhi.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

External cleansing is incomplete without inner integrity; true purity depends on bhāva (right intention).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is glorified; the verse emphasizes ethical and ritual standards.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śauca as required; the earth portion is measured by the size of a moist dhātrī (amalakī) fruit.