Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

चातुर्मास्ये नरः स्नानं प्रातरेव समाचरेत् । सर्वक्रतुफलं प्राप्य देववद्दिवि मोदते

Transliteration

cāturmāsye naraḥ snānaṃ prātareva samācaret | sarvakratuphalaṃ prāpya devavaddivi modate

Translation

ചാതുർമാസ്യത്തിൽ മനുഷ്യൻ പ്രഭാതത്തിൽ തന്നെ സ്നാനം ആചരിക്കണം; സർവ യാഗഫലം നേടി സ്വർഗത്തിൽ ദേവനെപ്പോലെ ആനന്ദിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya (four-month period)
• चातुर्मास्ये: अधिकरण (Locative/Place-Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘चातुर्मास्य’ (cāturmāsya) = चतुर्माससम्बन्धि (pertaining to the four-month period)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• स्नानम्: bathing
• स्नानम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• प्रातर्: in the morning
• प्रातर्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रातर् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-निपातस्वरूप)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात (particle of emphasis)

• समाचरेत्: should perform/practice
• समाचरेत्: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + चर् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• सर्वक्रतुफलम्: the fruit of all sacrifices
• सर्वक्रतुफलम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + क्रतु + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: क्रतूनां फलम् (fruit of all sacrifices)

• प्राप्य: having obtained
• प्राप्य: पूर्वकाल-क्रिया (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund) ‘प्राप्य’ = having obtained

• देववत्: like a god
• देववत्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: देववत् (अव्यय/तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (comparative adverb) ‘like a god’

• दिवि: in heaven
• दिवि: अधिकरण (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिव् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• मोदते: rejoices
• मोदते: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced; Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration typically via Sūta to sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn in monsoon season, a devotee performs river/pond bathing with rising mist; above, symbolic sacrificial fires and celestial beings indicate ‘sarva-kratu-phala’; the bather later appears radiant in svarga.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A simple daily act—morning bathing in Cāturmāsya—can yield immense merit, comparable to great Vedic sacrifices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it praises the practice of snāna during Cāturmāsya generally.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prātaḥ-snāna (morning bath) during Cāturmāsya.