Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

तत्र प्रविश्य यत्नेन पातालं वसुधाधिपः । करोतु जाह्नवीतोये स्नानं श्रद्धासमन्वितः

Transliteration

tatra praviśya yatnena pātālaṃ vasudhādhipaḥ | karotu jāhnavītoye snānaṃ śraddhāsamanvitaḥ

Translation

तेथे यत्नपूर्वक पाताळात प्रवेश करून वसुधाधिपती श्रद्धायुक्त होऊन जाह्नवी (गंगा) जलात स्नान करो।

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: ‘there’)

• प्रविश्य: having entered
• प्रविश्य: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-विश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive); ‘having entered’

• यत्नेन: with effort
• यत्नेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन (Instrumental singular)

• पातालम्: the netherworld (Pātāla)
• पातालम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• वसुधाधिपः: lord of the earth, king
• वसुधाधिपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुधा (प्रातिपदिक) + अधिप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Nominative singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘वसुधायाः अधिपः’)

• करोतु: let him do / should do
• करोतु: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (imperative); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd person singular); परस्मैपद

• जाह्नवीतोये: in the waters of the Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• जाह्नवीतोये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाह्नवी (प्रातिपदिक) + तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘जाह्नव्याः तोये’)

• स्नानम्: bath
• स्नानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• श्रद्धासमन्वितः: endowed with faith
• श्रद्धासमन्वितः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रद्धा (प्रातिपदिक) + समन्वित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (Nominative singular); उपपद-तत्पुरुष/सह-भाव (‘श्रद्धया समन्वितः’ = endowed with faith)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāhnavī-toya in Pātāla (Hāṭakeśvara tīrtha complex)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (standard Sūta frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A kingly pilgrim descends through a mysterious ‘divine passage’ into a subterranean sacred zone where luminous Gaṅgā-water flows; attendants hold lamps; the pilgrim prepares for ritual bathing with folded hands.

Characters & Entities

• Pātāla
• Jāhnavī waters (Pātāla-Jāhnavī)
• vasudhādhipa (king)
• Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faith (śraddhā) joined with right action at the right sacred place becomes the means for restoring purity and dharmic standing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Jāhnavī waters in Pātāla associated with Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra in Anarta.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform snāna (ritual bathing) in the Jāhnavī waters, approached with effort and śraddhā.