Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

चांद्रायणानि कृच्छ्राणि तया चीर्णान्यनेकशः । पाराकाणि यथोक्तानि तथा सांतपनानि च

Transliteration

cāṃdrāyaṇāni kṛcchrāṇi tayā cīrṇānyanekaśaḥ | pārākāṇi yathoktāni tathā sāṃtapanāni ca

Translation

ସେ ଅନେକଥର ଚାନ୍ଦ୍ରାୟଣ ଓ କୃଚ୍ଛ୍ର ତପ ଆଚରଣ କଲା; ଏବଂ ଶାସ୍ତ୍ରୋକ୍ତ ଭାବେ ପାରାକ ଓ ସାନ୍ତପନ ପ୍ରାୟଶ୍ଚିତ୍ତମାନେ ମଧ୍ୟ କଲା।

Word by Word

• cāṃdrāyaṇāni: cāndrāyaṇa vows
• cāṃdrāyaṇāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāṃdrāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• kṛcchrāṇi: kṛcchra penances
• kṛcchrāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛcchra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• tayā: by her
• tayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• cīrṇāni: performed
• cīrṇāni: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cīrṇa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √car)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘चीर्‍ण’ = practiced/performed

• anekaśaḥ: many times
• anekaśaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anekaśas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb)

• pārākāṇi: pārāka penances
• pārākāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārāka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• yathoktāni: as prescribed
• yathoktāni: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yathā + ukta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √vac)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; अव्ययीभावः ‘यथोक्त’ = as stated

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अनुक्रमसूचक; ‘likewise’)

• sāṃtapanāni: sāṃtapana penances
• sāṃtapanāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāṃtapana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक conjunction)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The maiden performs successive penances: moon-cycle fasting (Cāndrāyaṇa), austere Kṛcchra, prolonged Pārāka, and Sāṃtapana—shown through changing lunar phases and her steady posture near a sacred fire and water pot.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity and spiritual power are cultivated through disciplined vratas and prāyaścitta performed according to injunction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse focuses on vows and expiations; the tīrtha setting is part of the chapter’s larger Tīrthamāhātmya context but not named here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Named prāyaścittas include Cāndrāyaṇa, Kṛcchra, Pārāka, and Sāṃtapana—classical expiatory austerities involving regulated fasting and restraint.