Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

ततो बुभुक्षयाविष्टा बिसान्यादाय भूरिशः । तीरे निक्षिप्य सरसश्चक्रुः पुण्यां जल क्रियाम्

Transliteration

tato bubhukṣayāviṣṭā bisānyādāya bhūriśaḥ | tīre nikṣipya sarasaścakruḥ puṇyāṃ jala kriyām

Translation

پھر بھوک سے بے قرار ہو کر انہوں نے بہت سے کنول کے ڈنٹھل جمع کیے؛ تالاب کے کنارے رکھ کر انہوں نے ثواب بخش آبی رسم ادا کی۔

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): ‘thereupon/then’

• bubhukṣayā: by hunger
• bubhukṣayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bubhukṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; ‘by/with hunger’

• āviṣṭāḥ: overcome, seized
• āviṣṭāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-viś (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘overcome/possessed’ (agreeing with implied subject)

• bisāni: lotus-stalks
• bisāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bisa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; ‘lotus-stalks/fibres’

• ādāya: having taken
• ādāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-√dā (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त/अव्ययभाव)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्यय (absolutive): ‘having taken’

• bhūriśaḥ: in abundance
• bhūriśaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhūriśas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): ‘abundantly/in plenty’

• tīre: on the bank
• tīre: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (or पुल्लिङ्ग usage), सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; ‘on the bank’

• nikṣipya: having placed
• nikṣipya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ni-√kṣip (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्यय (absolutive): ‘having placed/laid down’

• sarasaḥ: of the lake
• sarasaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; ‘of the lake’

• cakruḥ: they performed
• cakruḥ: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद; ‘they did/made’

• puṇyām: holy, meritorious
• puṇyām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण of ‘kriyām’

• jala: water
• jala: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, (समासपूर्वपद/उपपद) अव्यक्त-विभक्ति; ‘water’ used attributively with ‘kriyām’

• kriyām: rite, ritual act
• kriyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; ‘rite/act’

Speaker

Narrative voice

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of ascetic sages on a lotus-filled lake: they harvest pale lotus-stalks, place bundles on the bank, then enter the water to perform a solemn jalakriyā.

Characters & Entities

• Cāmatkārapura

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even amid bodily needs, pilgrims sanctify actions through tīrtha-rites; water-rituals purify and generate puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sacred lake (saras) reached in the Cāmatkārapura-kṣetra setting is the implied tīrtha where the water-rite is done.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Puṇyā jala-kriyā—performing a holy water-rite (typically involving snāna/ācamana/tarpana-like acts depending on context).