Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

सैव षष्ठी तिथिः पुण्या तस्मात्तत्र द्रुतं व्रज । अहं तव पिता पुत्र शंतनुः पृथिवीपतिः

Transliteration

saiva ṣaṣṭhī tithiḥ puṇyā tasmāttatra drutaṃ vraja | ahaṃ tava pitā putra śaṃtanuḥ pṛthivīpatiḥ

Translation

അതേ ഷഷ്ഠീ തിഥി പുണ്യമയമാണ്; അതിനാൽ അവിടെ വേഗത്തിൽ പോകുക. ഞാൻ നിന്റെ പിതാവാണ്, പുത്രാ—ഭൂമിപതി ശന്തനു.

Word by Word

• sā: that (she/that one)
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• eva: indeed
• eva: Modifier (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• ṣaṣṭhī: the sixth lunar day
• ṣaṣṭhī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; तिथिनाम

• tithiḥ: lunar day
• tithiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tithi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• puṇyā: holy
• puṇyā: Karta (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/विधेय), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (तिथिः)

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (therefore)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• drutam: quickly
• drutam: Modifier (Manner/रीति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: druta (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभाववत्)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• vraja: go
• vraja: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vraj (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• pitā: father
• pitā: Karta (Predicate nominative/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुँल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• putra: O son
• putra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुँल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

• śaṃtanuḥ: Śaṃtanu
• śaṃtanuḥ: Karta (Apposition/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃtanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुँल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• pṛthivī-patiḥ: lord of the earth (king)
• pṛthivī-patiḥ: Karta (Apposition/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛthivī + pati (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुँल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; उपाधि/विशेषण-रूपेण (शंतनुः)

Speaker

Śaṃtanu (as a nabhovāṇī / celestial voice) addressing Bhīṣma

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Unnamed western-side Ṣaṣṭhī-snānā tīrtha

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śaṃtanu reveals his identity and urges Bhīṣma to hurry to the holy Ṣaṣṭhī bath; a royal father addressing a dutiful son-warrior.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṃtanu
• Bhīṣma
• ṣaṣṭhī tithi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine and ancestral guidance directs a person toward timely purification; dharma is upheld through prompt right action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The “there” refers to the nearby Śarmiṣṭhā-tīrtha indicated for the purifying bath.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Go quickly and observe the rite on the auspicious Ṣaṣṭhī tithi (in context, when it coincides with Tuesday in the dark fortnight).