Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

उच्छिष्टोऽहं द्विजश्रेष्ठ शय्यारूढो व्यवस्थितः । अत्र शालोद्भवे स्तंभे तस्मादेतज्जलं क्षिप

Transliteration

ucchiṣṭo'haṃ dvijaśreṣṭha śayyārūḍho vyavasthitaḥ | atra śālodbhave staṃbhe tasmādetajjalaṃ kṣipa

Translation

ഹേ ദ്വിജശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, ഞാൻ ഉച്ഛിഷ്ടാവസ്ഥയിൽ ശയ്യയിൽ കിടന്ന് സ്ഥിരമായിരിക്കുന്നു; അതിനാൽ ശാലവൃക്ഷത്തിൽ നിന്നുയർന്ന ഈ സ്തംഭത്തിന്മേൽ ഈ ജലം ഛടിക്കൂ।

Word by Word

• ucchiṣṭaḥ: impure
• ucchiṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ucchiṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘उच्छिष्टः’ = impure/after eating (qualifies aham)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dvijaśreṣṭha: O best of Brahmins
• dvijaśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: द्विजानां श्रेष्ठः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• śayyā-rūḍhaḥ: mounted on the bed
• śayyā-rūḍhaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śayyā + rūḍha (प्रातिपदिक; rūḍha from ruh (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: समास: शय्यायाम् आरूढः (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vyavasthitaḥ: situated/remaining
• vyavasthitaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ava-sthā (धातु) + क्त
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय कृदन्त (past passive participle used adjectivally): पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘स्थितः/remaining’

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक adverb)

• śāla-udbhave: in the pillar made of śāla-wood
• śāla-udbhave: Adhikarana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāla + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: शालात् उद्भवः (पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुष); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘स्तम्भे’

• staṃbhe: in the pillar
• staṃbhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: staṃbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (तस्मात् = therefore/from that)

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-विशेषण, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणं ‘जलम्’

• jalam: water
• jalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kṣipa: throw/sprinkle
• kṣipa: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṣip (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

King (pārthiva/bhūpati)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king reclines on a couch, declaring himself impure, pointing toward a wooden/stone pillar associated with a śāla tree, ordering the brāhmaṇa to throw the sanctified water there instead of on him.

Characters & Entities

• King (speaker)
• Śāla tree (śāla)
• Pillar (staṃbha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual purity rules shape how sacred acts are applied; even kings acknowledge constraints and redirect rites accordingly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A particular tīrtha is not named in this verse; it highlights a ritual act involving a śāla-born pillar within the chapter’s Māhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sprinkling/throwing consecrated water (jalam, implied śānti-udaka) is directed, with attention to impurity (ucchiṣṭa).