Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

अंगं प्रक्षाल्य पीत्वापो यावन्निष्क्रामति द्रुतम् । तावत्पश्यति गात्रं स्वं द्वादशार्कसमप्रभम्

Transliteration

aṃgaṃ prakṣālya pītvāpo yāvanniṣkrāmati drutam | tāvatpaśyati gātraṃ svaṃ dvādaśārkasamaprabham

Translation

അവൻ ദേഹം കഴുകി ആ ജലം പാനം ചെയ്തു; അത് വേഗത്തിൽ പുറത്തുപോകുന്നതിന് മുമ്പേ, തന്റെ അവയവങ്ങൾ പന്ത്രണ്ടു സൂര്യന്മാരുടെ തുല്യപ്രഭയിൽ ദീപ്തമെന്ന് കണ്ടു।

Word by Word

• aṅgam: body/limb
• aṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• prakṣālya: having washed
• prakṣālya: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया/पूर्वकर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-kṣāl (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘having washed’

• pītvā: having drunk
• pītvā: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया/पूर्वकर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘having drunk’

• āpaḥ: water
• āpaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āp (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (pluralia tantum), द्वितीया, बहुवचन; ‘waters’

• yāvat: as long as, until
• yāvat: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/संबन्ध-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (correlative): यावत्…तावत् = ‘as long as…so long’

• niṣkrāmati: goes out, emerges
• niṣkrāmati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nis-kram (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• drutam: quickly
• drutam: Kriya (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: druta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative): ‘quickly’

• tāvat: then, so long
• tāvat: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (correlative): ‘then/so long/thereupon’ (paired with yāvat)

• paśyati: sees
• paśyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• gātram: body
• gātram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• svam: his own
• svam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-विशेषण, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘own’ (qualifying gātram)

• dvādaśa-arka-sama-prabham: having radiance equal to twelve suns
• dvādaśa-arka-sama-prabham: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्या) + arka (प्रातिपदिक) + sama (प्रातिपदिक) + prabhā/prabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास (बहुपद-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-प्राय): ‘द्वादशार्कैः समा प्रभा यस्य’ इति; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying gātram)

Speaker

Sūta (contextual narration in Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The cowherd washes and drinks; his body suddenly blazes with a brilliance like twelve suns, startling onlookers as the water glows around him.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True tīrtha-sevā (bathing and partaking of sacred water) is portrayed as producing immediate inner purification, symbolized by radiant divine lustre.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gomukha-tīrtha (introduced by name in the subsequent verses of this same adhyāya).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (washing/bathing) and pāna (drinking) of the tīrtha-water.