Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

स्नानमात्रात्ततः सर्वे दिव्यमाल्यानुलेपनाः । दिव्यगात्रधरा सर्वे संजाताः पार्थिवोत्तमाः

Transliteration

snānamātrāttataḥ sarve divyamālyānulepanāḥ | divyagātradharā sarve saṃjātāḥ pārthivottamāḥ

Translation

അതിനുശേഷം സ്നാനം മാത്രത്താൽ തന്നെ അവർ എല്ലാവരും ദിവ്യ മാലകളും ദിവ്യ അനുലേപനങ്ങളും ധരിച്ചു അലങ്കൃതരായി; ദിവ്യ ദേഹകാന്തി വഹിച്ച് ഭൂമിയിൽ ശ്രേഷ്ഠ പുരുഷന്മാരായി സംജാതരായി।

Word by Word

• स्नानमात्रात्: from mere bathing
• स्नानमात्रात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान + मात्र (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे पञ्चमी एकवचनम् (Abl. sg.); तत्पुरुषः (स्नानस्य मात्रम्)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमसूचक (then/thereupon)

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (Nom. pl.); सर्वनामसदृश-विशेष्य (all [of them])

• दिव्यमाल्यानुलेपनाः: with divine garlands and unguents
• दिव्यमाल्यानुलेपनाः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य + माल्य + अनुलेपन (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (Nom. pl.); बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (दिव्यानि माल्यानि च अनुलेपनानि च येषाम्/येषु) — विशेषणप्रयोगः

• दिव्यगात्रधराः: bearing divine bodies
• दिव्यगात्रधराः: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य + गात्र + धर (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (Nom. pl.); तत्पुरुषः (दिव्यं गात्रं धारयन्ति)

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (Nom. pl.); विशेषणम्

• संजाताः: became
• संजाताः: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + जन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP); पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम्; ‘became/arose’

• पार्थिवोत्तमाः: excellent kings
• पार्थिवोत्तमाः: Karta (Predicate nominal/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा बहुवचनम् (Nom. pl.); कर्मधारयः (श्रेष्ठाः पार्थिवाः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextually Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: After bathing, the newly human men stand on the bank with glowing bodies, adorned spontaneously with celestial garlands and fragrant unguents; the air seems perfumed and luminous.

Characters & Entities

• snāna
• divya-mālya (divine garlands)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha is celebrated as so potent that mere bathing can bestow purity, dignity, and a ‘divine’ refinement of one’s embodied state.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Nāgarakhaṇḍa tīrtha of Adhyāya 23, famed for granting immediate auspicious transformation through snāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna-mātra—bathing alone—is singled out as the efficacious act.