Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

ततः स रजकस्तत्र वस्त्राण्यादाय सर्वशः । प्रविष्टः सलिले तस्मिन्क्षालयामास वै द्विजाः

Transliteration

tataḥ sa rajakastatra vastrāṇyādāya sarvaśaḥ | praviṣṭaḥ salile tasminkṣālayāmāsa vai dvijāḥ

Translation

پھر وہ دھوبی وہاں سے سب کپڑے اٹھا کر، اُس پانی میں اترا اور اے دَویجو! یقیناً انہیں دھونے لگا۔

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Time connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): ‘ततः’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• rajakaḥ: the washerman
• rajakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rajaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/adverb of place): ‘तत्र’

• vastrāṇi: clothes
• vastrāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vastra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन

• ādāya: having taken
• ādāya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√dā (धातु) + ya (ल्यप्/कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (ल्यप्/absolutive): ‘आदाय’ = ‘having taken’

• sarvaśaḥ: completely; in every way
• sarvaśaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvaśas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): ‘सर्वशः’ (entirely/in every way)

• praviṣṭaḥ: having entered
• praviṣṭaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√viś (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘entered’

• salile: in the water
• salile: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: salila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kṣālayāmāsa: washed
• kṣālayāmāsa: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṣāl (धातु) (णिच् causative: kṣālaya-)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्ष), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिजन्त (causative)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): ‘वै’ (indeed)

• dvijāḥ: the Brahmins
• dvijāḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया) बहुवचन (कर्मपदम्) — ‘द्विजान्’ अपेक्षितम्; पाठे ‘द्विजाः’ (प्रथमा) सम्भवतः छन्दो/पाठभेदः

Speaker

Narrator (addressing dvijāḥ)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijāḥ (vocative/address within narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the pond’s edge, a washerman gathers heaps of garments, steps into the water up to the waist, and begins washing; brāhmaṇas watch from the bank, alert for what the sacred water will reveal.

Characters & Entities

• rajaka (washerman)
• dvija (twice-born)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha power is revealed through concrete dharmic action—purification is enacted, not merely discussed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same jalāśaya tīrtha into which the washerman enters to wash the garments.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Entering the tīrtha-water and washing/cleansing—an act paralleling ritual purification and bathing (snāna).