Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

कुशोदकाद्गंधजलं तस्मात्तीर्थोदकं वरम् । तीर्थेभ्यश्च जलं दर्शे महीसागरसंभवम्

Transliteration

kuśodakādgaṃdhajalaṃ tasmāttīrthodakaṃ varam | tīrthebhyaśca jalaṃ darśe mahīsāgarasaṃbhavam

Translation

കുശജലത്തേക്കാൾ സുഗന്ധജലം ശ്രേഷ്ഠം; അതിലും ഉത്തമം തീർത്ഥജലം. തീർത്ഥജലത്തേക്കാളും മേന്മയുള്ളത് അമാവാസിദിനം പ്രത്യക്ഷമാകുന്ന, ഭൂമി–സമുദ്രസംബവമായ ജലമാണ്.

Word by Word

• kuśa-udakāt: from kuśa-water
• kuśa-udakāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuśa (प्रातिपदिक) + udaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (kuśasya udakāt)

• gandha-jalam: scented water
• gandha-jalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandha (प्रातिपदिक) + jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (gandhasya jalam)

• tasmāt: from that (than that)
• tasmāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• tīrtha-udakam: pilgrimage-site water
• tīrtha-udakam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + udaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (tīrthasya udakam)

• varam: better, superior
• varam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (tīrthodakam इति)

• tīrthebhyaḥ: from (other) tīrthas
• tīrthebhyaḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• jalam: water
• jalam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन

• darśe: on the Darśa (new-moon) occasion
• darśe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; कालवाचकः (on Darśa day/new-moon rite)

• mahī-sāgara-saṃbhavam: arising from the earth-ocean
• mahī-sāgara-saṃbhavam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक) + sāgara (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (mahī-sāgarāt saṃbhavam = arising from the earth-ocean) विशेषणम् (jalam इति)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at a riverside tīrtha prepares successive vessels: kuśa-water, scented water, tīrtha-water, and a luminous amāvāsyā water-pot shimmering with oceanic and earthy hues; priests recite while moonless night sky frames the sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Darśa (new-moon)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma grades ritual substances by sanctity; the more sacred the source, the greater the spiritual efficacy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Tīrtha-water is praised in general; no single location is specified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Using increasingly sanctified water—kuśa-water, scented water, then tīrtha-water, with special praise for Darśa (new-moon) water.