Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

ततोऽसौ सरयूं गत्वाऽवगाह्याथ च तज्जलम् । शुचिर्भूत्वा निविष्टोथ तत्तीरे विजने शुभे

Transliteration

tato'sau sarayūṃ gatvā'vagāhyātha ca tajjalam | śucirbhūtvā niviṣṭotha tattīre vijane śubhe

Translation

แล้วเขาก็ไปยังแม่น้ำสรยู ลงอาบแช่ในสายน้ำนั้น; ครั้นชำระกายใจให้ผ่องใสแล้ว จึงนั่งลง ณ ฝั่งอันเป็นมงคลและสงัดงามนั้น

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla/Deśa-viśeṣaṇa (Temporal/locative adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (ततस्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adverb (अव्यय) ‘then/from there’

• asau: he
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: adas (अदस्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• sarayūm: the Sarayū (river)
• sarayūm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarayū (सरयू-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: gam (गम्-धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त) ‘having gone’

• avagāhya: having bathed (immersed)
• avagāhya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ava-gāh (अव+गाह्-धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्/क्त्वार्थ) ‘having bathed/immersed’

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Connector/अन्वय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अथ)
• Form: Particle (निपात) ‘then’

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय) ‘and’

• tat-jalam: that water
• tat-jalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (तद्) + jala (जल)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; कर्मधारय: ‘that’ + ‘water’ = ‘that water (of the river)’

• śuciḥ: pure
• śuciḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuci (शुचि-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; used predicatively

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhū (भू-धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त) ‘having become’

• niviṣṭaḥ: sat down
• niviṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject state/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-viś (नि+विश्-धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular; ‘seated/settled’ (used as finite sense with ellipsis of ‘āsīt’)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Connector/अन्वय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अथ)
• Form: Particle (निपात) ‘then’

• tat-tīre: on its bank
• tat-tīre: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (तद्) + tīra (तीर)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; तत्पुरुष: ‘of that’ + ‘bank’

• vijane: in a solitary (place)
• vijane: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vijana (विजन-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; agrees with tattīre

• śubhe: auspicious
• śubhe: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (शुभ-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; agrees with tattīre

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta to the sages in a Māhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarayū

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijasattamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee reaches the Sarayū at dawn, enters the water for a ritual bath, then sits alone on a bright, auspicious sandy bank under open sky.

Characters & Entities

• Sarayū
• Lakṣmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Approaching a tīrtha with reverence and bathing (snāna) is presented as an act of purification that prepares one for higher spiritual resolve.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Sarayū River and her auspicious, secluded bank are highlighted as a sanctifying tīrtha setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna—immersing/bathing in the Sarayū’s waters, followed by sitting in a pure, secluded place.