Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

ततः क्षत्रियभार्याः प्रागृतुस्नानात्समाययुः । ब्राह्मणान्पुत्रजन्मार्थं न कामार्थं कथंचन

Transliteration

tataḥ kṣatriyabhāryāḥ prāgṛtusnānātsamāyayuḥ | brāhmaṇānputrajanmārthaṃ na kāmārthaṃ kathaṃcana

Translation

मग क्षत्रियांच्या पत्नी प्रथम ऋतुस्नान करून पुत्रजन्मासाठी ब्राह्मणांकडे आल्या; कामार्थ कधीही नव्हे.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Discourse/Temporal link (सम्बन्ध/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/अनन्तरम् (thereupon/then)

• क्षत्रियभार्याः: wives of Kṣatriyas
• क्षत्रियभार्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक) + भार्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (क्षत्रियाणां भार्याः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• प्राक्: before
• प्राक्: Temporal modifier (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्राक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पूर्वकालवाचक (before)

• ऋतुस्नानात्: from the (post-)menses bath / after the seasonal bath
• ऋतुस्नानात्: Apadana (Source/अपाादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋतु (प्रातिपदिक) + स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ऋतोः स्नानम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• समाययुः: they came/approached
• समाययुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√या (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• ब्राह्मणान्: Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• पुत्रजन्मार्थम्: for the purpose of begetting a son
• पुत्रजन्मार्थम्: Purpose (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + जन्मन्/जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पुत्रस्य जन्मनः अर्थः/प्रयोजनम्); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• कामार्थम्: for pleasure/desire
• कामार्थम्: Purpose (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी-तत्पुरुष (कामाय अर्थः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे

• कथंचन: in any way at all
• कथंचन: Adverbial modifier (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथंचन (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कदाचनार्थे/कथमपि (in any way at all)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator within Tīrthamāhātmya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Widowed or bereaved kṣatriya women perform seasonal bathing at a sacred waterbody at dawn, then approach seated brāhmaṇas with offerings, faces composed and resolute.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣatriya wives
• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma distinguishes intention: actions oriented to lineage, duty, and social stability are praised over acts driven by mere desire.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage is moving toward a specific tīrtha (Vāsiṣṭha Kuṇḍa) whose snāna is said to grant conception.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ṛtu-snānā (a ritually appropriate bath connected with the season/period) is explicitly mentioned as a preparatory observance.