Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

सूर्ये दृष्टे तु यत्स्नानं गङ्गातोयेन तत्समम् । तत्स्नानं पञ्चमं प्रोक्तं दिव्यं पाण्डवसत्तम

Transliteration

sūrye dṛṣṭe tu yatsnānaṃ gaṅgātoyena tatsamam | tatsnānaṃ pañcamaṃ proktaṃ divyaṃ pāṇḍavasattama

Translation

ส่วนการอาบที่กระทำเมื่อได้เห็นพระอาทิตย์นั้น เสมอด้วยการอาบด้วยน้ำคงคา การอาบนั้นกล่าวว่าเป็นการอาบที่ห้า คือการอาบทิพย์ โอ้ผู้ประเสริฐแห่งปาณฑพ

Word by Word

• सूर्ये: when/with the sun
• सूर्ये: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Locative, Singular)

• दृष्टे: (when) seen
• दृष्टे: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative absolute: 'when seen')

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (adversative/emphatic particle)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Relative pronoun, Nom./Acc., Singular)

• स्नानम्: bath
• स्नानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nominative, Singular)

• गङ्गातोयेन: with Ganges-water
• गङ्गातोयेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा + तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Instrumental, Singular); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ('गङ्गायाः तोयम्')

• तत्: that
• तत्: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Demonstrative pronoun, Nom./Acc., Singular)

• समम्: equal
• समम्: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Singular)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Demonstrative pronoun, Nom./Acc., Singular)

• स्नानम्: bath
• स्नानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nominative, Singular)

• पञ्चमम्: fifth
• पञ्चमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Singular; ordinal)

• प्रोक्तम्: is declared
• प्रोक्तम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (PPP: 'is said')

• दिव्यम्: divine
• दिव्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nominative, Singular)

• पाण्डवसत्तम: O best of the Pāṇḍavas
• पाण्डवसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Vocative, Singular); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ('पाण्डवानां सत्तमः')

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Divya-snana (Sūrya-darśana-snana)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim bathes at dawn as the Sun rises; rays touch the water; the scene subtly overlays the idea of Gaṅgā’s sanctity through luminous symbolism.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya
• Gaṅgā
• Pāṇḍava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right time and sacred awareness—such as sunrise—can elevate a simple act like bathing into Gaṅgā-like merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative, the teaching supports the tīrtha-mahātmya around Bhūtīśvara/Muktitīrtha on the Narmadā region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform snāna after beholding the Sun (sunrise/solar sight), which is said to confer merit equal to bathing in the Gaṅgā.