Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

यः पुमान्कामरहितः स्नानं तत्र समाचरेत् । श्राद्धं च पार्थिवश्रेष्ठ तस्य लोकाः सनातनाः

Transliteration

yaḥ pumānkāmarahitaḥ snānaṃ tatra samācaret | śrāddhaṃ ca pārthivaśreṣṭha tasya lokāḥ sanātanāḥ

Translation

കാമരഹിതനായ പുരുഷൻ അവിടെ സ്നാനം അനുഷ്ഠിച്ച് ശ്രാദ്ധവും ചെയ്താൽ, ഹേ രാജശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! അവന് സനാതന ലോകങ്ങൾ ലഭിക്കും.

Word by Word

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यः

• पुमान्: a man
• पुमान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुमांस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कामरहितः: free from desire
• कामरहितः: Visheshana (Adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक) + रहित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कामेन/कामस्य रहितः = devoid of desire)

• स्नानम्: bathing
• स्नानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• समाचरेत्: should perform; should practice
• समाचरेत्: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + चर् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• पार्थिवश्रेष्ठ: O best of kings
• पार्थिवश्रेष्ठ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (श्रेष्ठः पार्थिवः = best of kings)

• तस्य: of him; his
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन

• लोकाः: worlds; realms
• लोकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• सनातनाः: eternal
• सनातनाः: Visheshana (Adjective of lokāḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सनातन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; लोकाः इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Pulastya (deduced from immediate narrative context continuing into Adhyāya 6:1)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (pārthiva-śreṣṭha)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A restrained pilgrim performs dawn snāna, then conducts śrāddha calmly; the scene subtly shows ascent to luminous ‘eternal worlds’—a symbolic skyward path or radiant horizon.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual acts become spiritually potent when performed with niṣkāma-bhāva (freedom from selfish desire).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha under discussion in Arbuda Khaṇḍa, where bathing and śrāddha are especially meritorious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tīrtha-snānā (bathing at the sacred site) and śrāddha.