Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

यथा जलं धरापृष्ठात्खनन्नाप्नोति मानवः । तथा त्वां पूजयन्नित्यं मोक्षमाप्नोत्यसंशयम्

Transliteration

yathā jalaṃ dharāpṛṣṭhātkhanannāpnoti mānavaḥ | tathā tvāṃ pūjayannityaṃ mokṣamāpnotyasaṃśayam

Translation

മനുഷ്യൻ ഭൂമിയെ കുഴിച്ച് ജലം ലഭിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ, നിത്യവും നിന്നെ പൂജിക്കുന്നവൻ സംശയമില്ലാതെ മോക്ഷം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/तुलनार्थक-अव्यय (comparative adverb: “as/just as”)

• जलम्: water
• जलम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• धरापृष्ठात्: from the earth’s surface
• धरापृष्ठात्: Apadana (Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā (प्रातिपदिक) + pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष समास (धरायाः पृष्ठम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Ablative singular: “from the surface of the earth”)

• खनन्: digging
• खनन्: Karta (Agent, participial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: khan (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त; शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (agreeing with ‘मानवः’)

• आप्नोति: attains
• आप्नोति: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present); परस्मैपद; प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• मानवः: a man
• मानवः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Nominative singular)

• तथा: so, likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Correlative/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तदनुरूप/तुलनार्थक-अव्यय (correlative adverb: “so/in the same way”)

• त्वाम्: you
• त्वाम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• पूजयन्: worshipping
• पूजयन्: Karta (Agent, participial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त; शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (agreeing with implied subject)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग/क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययवत् (adverbial accusative: “always/constantly”)

• मोक्षम्: liberation
• मोक्षम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• आप्नोति: attains
• आप्नोति: Kriya (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present); परस्मैपद; प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• असंशयम्: without doubt
• असंशयम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: a-saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नञ्-समासान्त/क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: “without doubt”)

Speaker

A devotee (tīrtha-related narrator context; speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at a tīrtha shrine compares spiritual effort to digging: earth being opened to reveal a clear spring, while a liṅga stands nearby receiving lamps and flowers—suggesting mokṣa emerging from steady worship.

Characters & Entities

• Mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady daily worship yields the highest fruit—mokṣa—just as persistent digging reveals water.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse states a general phala (benefit) within a tīrtha narrative; a specific site is not identified in this single verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nitya-pūjā (daily worship) is explicitly praised as the practice leading to liberation.