Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

सुस्वादु च तथा स्नानात्सर्वपातकनाशनम् । तेनापि स्थापितस्तत्र भास्करो वारितस्करः

Transliteration

susvādu ca tathā snānātsarvapātakanāśanam | tenāpi sthāpitastatra bhāskaro vāritaskaraḥ

Translation

അതിന്റ ജലം അത്യന്തം മധുരമാണ്; അവിടെ സ്നാനം ചെയ്‌താൽ സർവ്വപാപങ്ങളും നശിക്കും; അവൻ അവിടെ ഭാസ്കരനെ ‘വാരിതസ്കര’ എന്ന നാമത്തിൽ സ്ഥാപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• su-svādu: very sweet
• su-svādu: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svādu (प्रातिपदिक) उपसर्गः su- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम् (Neuter Nom/Acc Sg); विशेषणम्

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्ययम् (adverb)

• snānāt: from bathing
• snānāt: Apādāna (Source/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे पञ्चमी एकवचनम् (Neuter Abl Sg)

• sarva-pātaka-nāśanam: destroyer of all sins
• sarva-pātaka-nāśanam: Karma/Predicative (Object/Predicate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pātaka (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम् (Neuter Nom/Acc Sg)

• tena: by that
• tena: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया एकवचनम् (Neuter Instr Sg)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-भावक-अव्ययम् (particle: also/even)

• sthāpitaḥ: was established/installed
• sthāpitaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate; passive participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धा) + ṇic (causative) → sthāpita (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्तः भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः; पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (PPP, Masc Nom Sg)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (locative adverb)

• bhāskaraḥ: the Sun (Bhāskara)
• bhāskaraḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāskara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (Masc Nom Sg)

• vārita-taskaraḥ: the thief-restrainer (one who stops thieves)
• vārita-taskaraḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vārita (कृदन्त, क्त; √vṛ/√vār ‘to restrain’) + taskara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (Masc Nom Sg); विशेषणम्

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims taste sweet tīrtha-water and bathe; nearby stands a Sun-shrine or icon—Bhāskara radiant—named Vāritaskara, symbolically guarding the place from thieves and misfortune.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Bhāskara (Sūrya)
• Vāritaskara (epithet/title of Sūrya at the site)
• Kuṇḍa/Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred waters purify, and devotion to the Sun as dharma’s witness grants both inner cleansing and worldly protection.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The kuṇḍa/tīrtha where sweet, purifying water is found and where Sūrya is worshipped as Vāritaskara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) at the tīrtha and worship/installation-focused reverence to Bhāskara (Sūrya).