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

‘جہاں گنگا ماتا موجود نہ ہو، وہاں چاندَرایَن ورت، کِرِچّھر تپسیا اور سانتَپَن ریاضتیں پرایَشچِتّ کے طور پر مقرر کی گئی ہیں۔’

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.