Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

एकाः प्रोचुः कर्म चैतद्यदेषा कुरुते सदा । मृन्मयांश्च समादाय पूजयेत्पंचपिंडकान्

Transliteration

ekāḥ procuḥ karma caitadyadeṣā kurute sadā | mṛnmayāṃśca samādāya pūjayetpaṃcapiṃḍakān

Translation

Algumas disseram: “Deve ser este o rito que ela pratica sempre: tomando barro, ela venera cinco piṇḍas (oferendas de argila).”

Word by Word

• ekāḥ: some (women)
• ekāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• procuḥ: said/spoke
• procuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra+vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• karma: act/ritual
• karma: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• yat: which/that
• yat: Sambandha (Relative link)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बन्ध-बोधक अव्यय (relative particle; correlating with तत्/एतत्)

• eṣā: this (woman)
• eṣā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• kurute: does/performs
• kurute: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद (Ātmanepada)

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• mṛnmayān: earthen (made of clay)
• mṛnmayān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛt + maya (प्रातिपदिक; मृद् + मय)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (मृन्मय = मृदः मयः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• samādāya: having taken
• samādāya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√dā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘having taken/collected’

• pūjayet: should worship
• pūjayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada)

• pañca-piṃḍakān: five balls/lumps (piṇḍas)
• pañca-piṃḍakān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañca (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + piṃḍaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (पञ्च पिण्डकाः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

Speaker

Sūta (narration; quoted speech of the co-wives)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A woman at a quiet water-reservoir kneads riverbank clay into five small piṇḍas, arranging them before an unseen/imagined Gaurī presence; nearby women watch and whisper, half-hidden behind trees and steps.

Characters & Entities

• Gaurī
• Pañca-piṇḍa (five clay piṇḍas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Consistent, simple ritual acts—when done with devotion—are believed to generate powerful auspicious outcomes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The rite is practiced at the local jalāśaya described in Adhyāya 177 of the Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Making earthen (mṛnmaya) five piṇḍas and worshiping them as part of Gaurī-pūjā.