Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

गोशृंगोदकमादाय सद्यः पापात्प्रमुच्यते । जात्या भाद्रपदे पूजा क्षीरनैवेद्यमाददेत्

Transliteration

gośṛṃgodakamādāya sadyaḥ pāpātpramucyate | jātyā bhādrapade pūjā kṣīranaivedyamādadet

Translation

ഗോശൃംഗംകൊണ്ട് സംസ്കൃതമായ ജലം സ്വീകരിച്ചാൽ മനുഷ്യൻ ഉടൻ പാപത്തിൽ നിന്ന് മോചിതനാകും. ഭാദ്രപദത്തിൽ ജാതി (മുല്ല) പുഷ്പങ്ങളാൽ പൂജ ചെയ്ത് നൈവേദ്യമായി പാൽ അർപ്പിക്കണം.

Word by Word

• go-śṛṅga-udakam: water from a cow’s horn
• go-śṛṅga-udakam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक) + śṛṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + udaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (gośṛṅgasya udakam)

• ādāya: having taken
• ādāya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √dā (दा, धातु) + ā- (उपसर्ग); ādāya (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् कृदन्तः (ल्यप्/क्त्वान्त अव्यय), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया ‘having taken’

• sadyaḥ: immediately
• sadyaḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb: immediately)

• pāpāt: from sin
• pāpāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादान (source/ablative)

• pramucyate: is freed
• pramucyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muc (मुच्, धातु) + pra- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः ‘is released’

• jātyā: with jasmine (jāti)
• jātyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; करण/उपाय (instrumental: ‘with jasmine’)

• bhādrapade: in (the month of) Bhādrapada
• bhādrapade: Adhikarana (Time-locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhādrapada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; काल-अधिकरण

• pūjā: worship
• pūjā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūjā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kṣīra-naivedyam: milk-offering (naivedya of milk)
• kṣīra-naivedyam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣīra (प्रातिपदिक) + naivedya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (kṣīraṃ naivedyam) ‘milk-offering’

• ādadet: should offer
• ādadet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (दा, धातु) + ā- (उपसर्ग); ādade (आददाति)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; ‘should offer/take up’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from didactic sequence)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A priest pours clear water through/into a cow’s horn; the devotee sips it; nearby, a Sūrya shrine receives jasmine garlands and a bowl of fresh milk as offering.

Characters & Entities

• Gośṛṅgodaka
• Bhādrapada
• Jāti (jasmine)
• Kṣīra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity is portrayed as accessible through sanctified substances and timely worship, yielding swift moral-spiritual cleansing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse highlights a purificatory practice (gośṛṅgodaka) within a tīrtha-oriented chapter, without naming a specific location here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Take gośṛṅgodaka for immediate release from sin; in Bhādrapada, worship with jāti flowers and offer milk as naivedya.