Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

गिरौ गंगा जले स्नानं संध्यां चक्रे स नारदः । यावदास्ते तदा हृष्टा वालखिल्या महर्षयः

Transliteration

girau gaṃgā jale snānaṃ saṃdhyāṃ cakre sa nāradaḥ | yāvadāste tadā hṛṣṭā vālakhilyā maharṣayaḥ

Translation

บนภูเขา นารทได้อาบน้ำศักดิ์สิทธิ์ในสายน้ำคงคา และประกอบพิธีสันธยา ครั้นเขาพำนักอยู่ ณ ที่นั้น เหล่ามหาฤๅษีวาลคิลยะก็ปลาบปลื้มยินดี

Word by Word

• गिरौ: on the mountain
• गिरौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Masculine, Locative Singular

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Adhikarana (as apposition)/अधिकरण
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative Singular

• जले: in the water
• जले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Neuter, Locative Singular

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

• सन्ध्याम्: the twilight-prayer (sandhyā)
• सन्ध्याम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सन्ध्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Feminine, Accusative Singular

• चक्रे: performed
• चक्रे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन — Perfect, 3rd person singular

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Pronoun, Nominative Singular

• नारदः: Nārada
• नारदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Masculine, Nominative Singular

• यावत्: as long as
• यावत्: Sambandha (Temporal marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/कालवाचक-अव्यय (correlative ‘as long as’)

• आस्ते: remains/sits
• आस्ते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन — Present, 3rd person singular

• तदा: then
• तदा: Sambandha (Temporal marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then)

• हृष्टाः: delighted
• हृष्टाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हृष् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle used adjectivally), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — ‘delighted’

• वालखिल्याः: Vālakhilya sages
• वालखिल्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वालखिल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative Plural (name of a class of sages)

• महर्षयः: great seers
• महर्षयः: Karta (Apposition)/कर्ता
• Type: Noun
• Root: महर्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative Plural

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (Gaṅgā-jala tīrtha on the hill)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a rocky hill-tīrtha, Nārada completes Gaṅgā-snānā and stands in sandhyā posture; nearby, tiny Vālakhilya sages watch with delighted faces amid sparse trees and a shining water pool/stream.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Gaṅgā
• Sandhyā
• Vālakhilya Ṛṣis
• Mandara (implied mountain setting)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity and devotion are maintained through daily disciplines—snāna and Sandhyā—especially when performed at sacred waters like Gaṅgā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Gaṅgā waters at the mountain setting (Mandara context) are treated as a sanctifying tīrtha in this narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna in Gaṅgā water and performance of Sandhyā (twilight worship) are explicitly mentioned.