Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

कुशोदकं च संप्राश्य कायशुद्धिमवाप्नुयात् । वैशाखे किंशुकैः पूजां यथावच्च घृताशनैः

Transliteration

kuśodakaṃ ca saṃprāśya kāyaśuddhimavāpnuyāt | vaiśākhe kiṃśukaiḥ pūjāṃ yathāvacca ghṛtāśanaiḥ

Translation

കുശസംസ്കൃത ജലം പ്രാശനം ചെയ്താൽ ദേഹശുദ്ധി ലഭിക്കും. വൈശാഖമാസത്തിൽ കിംശുകപുഷ്പങ്ങളാൽ പൂജ ചെയ്ത്, വിധിപ്രകാരം ഘൃതാശനം (നെയ്യ് പ്രാശനം) ചെയ്യണം।

Word by Word

• kuśa-udakam: kuśa-water
• kuśa-udakam: Karman (Object of saṃprāśya/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuśa (प्रातिपदिक) + udaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘kuśa-water’ (water with kuśa grass)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) — ‘and’

• saṃprāśya: having sipped
• saṃprāśya: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-pra-√aś (धातु) + ya (ल्यप्/क्त्वा-समकक्ष, कृदन्त)
• Form: अव्ययकृदन्त (ल्यप्/gerund), ‘having sipped/eaten’

• kāya-śuddhim: purification of the body
• kāya-śuddhim: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāya (प्रातिपदिक) + śuddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘bodily purification’

• avāpnuyāt: should obtain
• avāpnuyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava√āp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘should obtain’

• vaiśākhe: in Vaiśākha
• vaiśākhe: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaiśākha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — ‘in Vaiśākha (month)’ (मास-विशेषण)

• kiṃśukaiḥ: with kiṃśuka flowers
• kiṃśukaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiṃśuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — ‘with kiṃśuka flowers’

• pūjām: worship
• pūjām: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūjā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘worship’

• yathāvat: properly
• yathāvat: Sambandha (Manner/रीति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘properly, as prescribed’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) — ‘and’

• ghṛta-āśanaiḥ: with ghee-based foods
• ghṛta-āśanaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + āśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — ‘with ghee-foods/with eating ghee (offerings)’ (करण)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrtha-māhātmya didactic style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee sips kuśa-infused water with cupped hand; later, in Vaiśākha, bright orange-red kiṃśuka flowers are offered at the shrine; ghee offerings are prepared nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Kuśa
• Vaiśākha
• Kiṃśuka
• Ghṛta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Outer purity supports inner devotion; simple ritual acts (like kuśodaka) are framed as dharmic means to śuddhi.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse provides a ritual prescription within a Tīrtha-māhātmya chapter but does not name a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sip kuśa-water for bodily purification; in Vaiśākha worship with kiṃśuka flowers and perform the ghee-based prāśana as prescribed.