Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

अश्वमेधसहस्रस्य फलं प्राप्नोत्यसंशयम् । चातुर्मास्ये विशेषेण भोक्तुर्मोक्षप्रदं भवेत्

Transliteration

aśvamedhasahasrasya phalaṃ prāpnotyasaṃśayam | cāturmāsye viśeṣeṇa bhokturmokṣapradaṃ bhavet

Translation

เขาย่อมได้ผลแห่งอัศวเมธะพันครั้งโดยไม่ต้องสงสัย โดยเฉพาะในกาลจาตุรมาสยะ การรับประทานเช่นนี้ย่อมเป็นเหตุประทานโมกษะแก่ผู้บริโภค

Word by Word

• अश्वमेधसहस्रस्य: of a thousand Aśvamedha (sacrifices)
• अश्वमेधसहस्रस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अश्वमेधानां सहस्रम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• फलम्: the fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• प्राप्नोति: attains
• प्राप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप्/आप्नोति (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• असंशयम्: without doubt
• असंशयम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: असंशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverbial accusative)

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya period
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• विशेषेण: especially
• विशेषेण: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण क्रियाविशेषण (instrumental used adverbially)

• भोक्तुः: of the eater/partaker
• भोक्तुः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुज् (धातु) → भोक्तृ (कृदन्त, तृ-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कर्तृवाचक-तृन्त (agent noun), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• मोक्षप्रदम्: granting liberation
• मोक्षप्रदम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी-तत्पुरुष (मोक्षं प्रददाति इति); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (predicate adjective)

• भवेत्: would be/becomes
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Vāṇī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cāturmāsya observance with palāśa-pātra (within Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Narrative audience within Brahmā–Nārada framed Cāturmāsya discourse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotee in Cāturmāsya austerity eats from palāśa leaves; above, symbolic vision of a thousand Aśvamedha yajñas dissolving into a single radiant mokṣa-light, indicating the superior fruit in sacred season.

Characters & Entities

• Aśvamedha
• Cāturmāsya
• Mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Simple dharmic observances, when performed in sacred times like Cāturmāsya, are exalted as powerful paths to purification and even liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The emphasis is on time-sacrality (Cāturmāsya) and the palāśa practice within tīrtha tradition, rather than a named geographic tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A Cāturmāsya-specific observance connected with ‘bhoktṛ’ (ritually proper partaking), presented as highly meritorious.