Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

ततः प्रभातां रजनीं दृष्ट्वा नत्वा महोदधिम् । आमन्त्र्य स्नानविधिना स्नानं तत्र तु कारयेत्

Transliteration

tataḥ prabhātāṃ rajanīṃ dṛṣṭvā natvā mahodadhim | āmantrya snānavidhinā snānaṃ tatra tu kārayet

Translation

ครั้นแล้วเมื่อเห็นราตรีแปรเป็นอรุณรุ่ง จงนอบน้อมแด่มหาสมุทร แล้วอัญเชิญท่าน และตามพิธีอาบน้ำ จงกระทำการอาบ ณ ที่นั้น

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अपादान/क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (Adverb: thereafter/from that)

• प्रभाताम्: dawn (as having come)
• प्रभाताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभाता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Accusative, Singular)

• रजनीम्: night
• रजनीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Accusative, Singular)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive)

• नत्वा: having bowed
• नत्वा: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नम् (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive)

• महोदधिम्: the great ocean
• महोदधिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-उदधि (प्रातिपदिक); महा (विशेषण) + उदधि (नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

• आमन्त्र्य: having invoked/addressed
• आमन्त्र्य: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√मन्त्र् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यबन्त-अव्यय (Gerund in -ya/Absolutive)

• स्नानविधिना: by the bathing procedure/rite
• स्नानविधिना: Karaṇa (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान-विधि (प्रातिपदिक); स्नान (नाम) + विधि (नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Singular)

• स्नानम्: bath
• स्नानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (Adverb of place)

• तु: indeed, but
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपात (Particle)

• कारयेत्: should cause to be done / should have (it) performed
• कारयेत्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु) (णिच् causative: कारय)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोग (Causative) (3rd person, Singular)

Speaker

Śiva (Śaṅkara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahodadhi-snānīya tīrtha (ocean-bathing spot)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at the seashore just before sunrise, palms joined toward the vast ocean; the sky shifts from night to saffron dawn; ritual vessels and cloth lie neatly on the sand.

Characters & Entities

• Mahodadhi (Ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual purity is joined with reverence for sacred waters, treating the ocean as a divine presence to be respectfully invoked.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The mahodadhi (ocean) as a sacred tīrtha for snāna, invoked as a deity-like locus of purification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bow to the ocean at dawn, perform āmantraṇa (invocation), then bathe following the prescribed snāna-vidhi.