Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

जलमध्ये प्रकर्त्तव्यं निधिलक्ष्मीप्रपूजनम्

Transliteration

jalamadhye prakarttavyaṃ nidhilakṣmīprapūjanam

Translation

Pemujaan Nidhi-Lakṣmī hendaklah dilakukan di tengah-tengah air.

Word by Word

• जले: in water
• जले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative)

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• प्रकर्त्तव्यम्: to be done; should be performed
• प्रकर्त्तव्यम्: Vidhi (Obligation/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + कृ (धातु) → कर्तव्य (कृदन्त/gerundive)
• Form: कर्तव्य-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (भाव्य/gerundive), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicate adjective)

• निधिलक्ष्मीप्रपूजनम्: worship of Nidhi-Lakṣmī
• निधिलक्ष्मीप्रपूजनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निधि (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्ष्मी (प्रातिपदिक) + प्र + पूज् (धातु) → पूजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (निधिलक्ष्म्याः प्रपूजनम् = worship of Nidhi-Lakṣmī)

Speaker

Brahmā (deduced for Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nidhi-Lakṣmī-kunda (contextual; unnamed in excerpt)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee stands waist-deep in a sacred pond, holding a lotus and lamp, worshipping Nidhi-Lakṣmī with offerings floating on leaf-bowls; priests chant from the bank.

Characters & Entities

• Lakṣmī
• Nidhis
• Kuṇḍa (water)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Prosperity (Lakṣmī) is to be approached through sanctified, disciplined ritual within a tīrtha environment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Ayodhyā kuṇḍa/tīrtha whose waters are central to the prescribed worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform Nidhi-Lakṣmī pūjā ‘jalamadhye’—in the midst of the water—indicating a water-centered rite.