Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

अष्टम्यां वा चतुर्दश्यां स्नापयेन्मधुना शिवम् । विमुक्तकल्मषः सद्यो जायते नात्र संशयः

Transliteration

aṣṭamyāṃ vā caturdaśyāṃ snāpayenmadhunā śivam | vimuktakalmaṣaḥ sadyo jāyate nātra saṃśayaḥ

Translation

अष्टम्यां वा चतुर्दश्यां मधुना शिवं स्नापयेत्। तत्क्षणादेव विमुक्तकल्मषः शुद्धो भवति—नात्र संशयः॥

Word by Word

• अष्टम्यां: on the eighth (lunar day)
• अष्टम्यां: Adhikarana (Location/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टमी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; काल/तिथि-निर्देशे (locative of time)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: ‘or’)

• चतुर्दश्यां: on the fourteenth (lunar day)
• चतुर्दश्यां: Adhikarana (Location/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; काल/तिथि-निर्देशे (locative of time)

• स्नापयेत्: should bathe (cause to be bathed)
• स्नापयेत्: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; णिजन्त-प्रयोगः (causative: ‘cause to bathe’)

• मधुना: with honey
• मधुना: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मधु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; करणत्वे (means)

• शिवम्: Śiva
• शिवम्: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मत्वे

• विमुक्तकल्मषः: freed from sin
• विमुक्तकल्मषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विमुक्त (कृदन्त; वि+मुच् धातु, क्त) + कल्मष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कल्मषात् विमुक्तः = freed from sin)

• सद्यः: immediately
• सद्यः: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सद्यः (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time: immediately)

• जायते: is born / comes to be
• जायते: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; भावे/कर्मणि-स्वरूपः (intransitive: ‘is born/arises’)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation)

• अत्र: here / in this matter
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: here/in this matter)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘न’ इत्यनेन निषिद्धः

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-saṅgama tīrtha (as implied by Revākhaṇḍa context)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa / nṛpanandana (king/prince addressed in surrounding verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee at a riverside Śiva shrine performs honey-abhiṣeka on a liṅga on aṣṭamī/caturdaśī; lamps and bilva leaves surround the altar; Revā waters shimmer nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional worship (upacāra) offered with sincerity at sacred times yields swift inner purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse supports the Nāgeśvara/Narmadā shrine context by prescribing Śiva-abhiṣeka connected to that tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform Śiva’s abhiṣeka (ritual bathing) with honey on Aṣṭamī or Caturdaśī tithi for immediate purification.