Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

दिनत्रयं च यः स्नाति नर्मदायां समाहितः । सुप्ते देवे जगन्नाथे पापं याति सहस्रधा

Transliteration

dinatrayaṃ ca yaḥ snāti narmadāyāṃ samāhitaḥ | supte deve jagannāthe pāpaṃ yāti sahasradhā

Translation

ജഗന്നാഥൻ ദിവ്യനിദ്രയിൽ ആയിരിക്കുമ്പോൾ, നർമദയിൽ ഏകാഗ്രചിത്തനായി മൂന്ന് ദിവസം സ്നാനം ചെയ്യുന്നവന്റെ പാപം ആയിരമടങ്ങായി നശിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• दिनत्रयम्: for three days
• दिनत्रयम्: कालाधिकरण (Time-extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; द्विगुः: त्रयः दिनाः (three days)

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• यः: who
• यः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• स्नाति: bathes
• स्नाति: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• नर्मदायाम्: in the Narmadā
• नर्मदायाम्: अधिकरण (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (नदी-नाम)

• समाहितः: composed/attentive
• समाहितः: कर्ता-विशेषण (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + धा (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) ‘समाहित’ = collected/attentive; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्तृ-विशेषण

• सुप्ते: when (he) is asleep
• सुप्ते: सति-सप्तमी (Locative absolute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) ‘सुप्त’ = asleep; पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• देवे: (when) the god
• देवे: सति-सप्तमी (Locative absolute)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सति-सप्तमी-सहचर (co-locative absolute)

• जगन्नाथे: Jagannātha (Lord of the world)
• जगन्नाथे: सति-सप्तमी (Locative absolute)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् + नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: जगतः नाथः (Lord of the world)

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• याति: goes/vanishes
• याति: क्रिया (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• सहस्रधा: a thousandfold
• सहस्रधा: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रधा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb) ‘in a thousandfold manner’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Three consecutive dawns on the Narmadā: a devotee bathes with folded hands; in the sky/temple sanctum a symbolic reclining Viṣṇu (Jagannātha in yoganidrā) indicates the śayana season; sin depicted as dark mist dispersing.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā
• Jagannātha
• Divine sleep (Deva-śayana / Cāturmāsya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Focused practice at a holy river during the sacred season is presented as extraordinarily effective for removing sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā river as a purifying tīrtha, especially in the Cāturmāsya/Deva-śayana context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A three-day regimen of bathing in the Narmadā with mental concentration (samāhita-bhāva).