Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

चांद्रायणानि कृच्छ्राणि तथा सांतपनानि च । प्रायश्चित्तानि दीयंते यत्र गंगा न विद्यते

Transliteration

cāṃdrāyaṇāni kṛcchrāṇi tathā sāṃtapanāni ca | prāyaścittāni dīyaṃte yatra gaṃgā na vidyate

Translation

‘ในสถานที่ซึ่งพระแม่คงคามิได้ประทับอยู่ ได้บัญญัติให้ถือพรตจันทรายนะ ทำตบะกฤจฉระ และสางตปนะ เป็นปรายัศจิตตะ’

Word by Word

• चांद्रायणानि: Cāndrāyaṇa penances
• चांद्रायणानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāndrāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; व्रतविशेष (a type of penance)

• कृच्छ्राणि: Kṛcchra penances
• कृच्छ्राणि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛcchra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; तपोव्रतविशेष

• तथा: and also
• तथा: Discourse (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अन्वयार्थ (and also/likewise)

• सांतपनानि: Sāṃtapana penances
• सांतपनानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāṃtapana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; प्रायश्चित्तविशेष

• च: and
• च: Discourse (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• प्रायश्चित्तानि: expiations; penances
• प्रायश्चित्तानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāyaścitta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन

• दीयन्ते: are given; are prescribed
• दीयन्ते: Kriya (मुख्यक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive: ‘are given/prescribed’)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्ध-देशवाचक (relative locative adverb: where)

• गंगा: Gaṅgā (the Ganges)
• गंगा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Discourse (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेधार्थक निपात (negation particle)

• विद्यते: exists; is found
• विद्यते: Kriya (मुख्यक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; भावे/सत्तार्थे (‘exists’)

Speaker

Śāṇḍilya (quoted within Sūta’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (as benchmark purifier; contrasted by absence)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: the assembled dvijas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Didactic emphasis: the sage enumerates three expiations; visual motifs show a lunar arc (for Cāndrāyaṇa), ascetic posture (for Kṛcchra), and purificatory heat/fire symbolism (for Sāṃtapana), set against a non-Gaṅgā landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Cāndrāyaṇa
• Kṛcchra
• Sāṃtapana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Where supreme sacred resources are absent, rigorous penances serve as substitutes; sacred geography can make purification more accessible.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā is highlighted as the decisive purifier; the next verse specifies Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā in this kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Cāndrāyaṇa, Kṛcchra, and Sāṃtapana are named as prāyaścitta options where Gaṅgā is unavailable.