Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

वत्स लक्ष्मण शुश्रूषां विप्राणां श्राद्धसंभवाम् । पादप्रक्षालनाद्यां त्वं यथावत्कर्तुमर्हसि

Transliteration

vatsa lakṣmaṇa śuśrūṣāṃ viprāṇāṃ śrāddhasaṃbhavām | pādaprakṣālanādyāṃ tvaṃ yathāvatkartumarhasi

Translation

Wahai Lakṣmaṇa, pada waktu śrāddha engkau hendaklah melaksanakan khidmat kepada para brāhmaṇa dengan sempurna, bermula dengan membasuh kaki mereka dan adat-adat yang lain.

Word by Word

• वत्स: dear child
• वत्स: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्स (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; स्नेहसम्बोधन

• लक्ष्मण: O Lakshmana
• लक्ष्मण: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• शुश्रूषाम्: service, attendance
• शुश्रूषाम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुश्रूषा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म

• विप्राणाम्: of the Brahmins
• विप्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध: शुश्रूषा (of the Brahmins)

• श्राद्धसम्भवाम्: arising from the śrāddha (rite)
• श्राद्धसम्भवाम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्राद्ध + सम्भवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण: शुश्रूषाम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'श्राद्धात् सम्भवा' = arising from/connected with śrāddha

• पादप्रक्षालनाद्याम्: (such as) washing the feet and the like
• पादप्रक्षालनाद्याम्: Karma (Object/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद + प्रक्षालन + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; '...आद्याम्' = beginning with; कर्म; समास: पादप्रक्षालन (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष 'पादस्य प्रक्षालनम्') + आदि

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्ता

• यथावत्: properly
• यथावत्: Sambandha (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकारवाचक) = properly, duly

• कर्तुम्: to perform
• कर्तुम्: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कर्तुम् (कृदन्त-तुमुन्)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive) = to do/perform

• अर्हसि: you should/are fit to
• अर्हसि: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह् (धातु) → अर्हसि (तिङन्त)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Rāma (Rāghava) addressing Lakṣmaṇa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Lakṣmaṇa kneels with a water vessel, washing the feet of seated brāhmaṇas in a śrāddha pavilion; Rāma stands nearby instructing with calm authority.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma (Rāghava)
• Lakṣmaṇa
• brāhmaṇas (vipras)
• śrāddha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha is upheld through reverent hospitality—service to worthy brāhmaṇas is treated as a dharmic act supporting ancestral rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader chapter is within a Tīrthamāhātmya, but this verse focuses on śrāddha conduct rather than naming a specific site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Service to brāhmaṇas during śrāddha, explicitly including pāda-prakṣālana (washing of the feet) and related customary honors.