Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

रजकेन यथा धौतं वस्त्रं भवति निर्मलम् । तथासौ निर्मलो जातो धर्मराजो युधिष्ठिर

Transliteration

rajakena yathā dhautaṃ vastraṃ bhavati nirmalam | tathāsau nirmalo jāto dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhira

Translation

Như tấm vải được người thợ giặt giũ sạch trở nên tinh khiết, cũng vậy, Đức Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira đã được thanh tịnh hoàn toàn.

Word by Word

• रजकेन: by a washerman
• रजकेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• यथा: as
• यथा: Upamana marker (Comparison)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (comparative particle: ‘as’)

• धौतम्: washed
• धौतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धाव्/धौ (धातु) + त (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वस्त्रम्)

• वस्त्रम्: cloth
• वस्त्रम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भवति: becomes
• भवति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• निर्मलम्: clean, pure
• निर्मलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वस्त्रम्)

• तथा: so, likewise
• तथा: Correlation marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तदनुरूपवाचक (correlative: ‘so/likewise’)

• असौ: that person / he
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• निर्मलः: pure
• निर्मलः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (असौ)

• जातः: became
• जातः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) + त (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘became/was born’

• धर्मराजः: Dharmarāja
• धर्मराजः: Apposition (सम्बन्ध/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मराज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—धर्मस्य राजा (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• युधिष्ठिर: O Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (explicitly addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: a washerman beating and rinsing a cloth at the riverbank, juxtaposed with a kingly figure (Dharmarāja) emerging radiant and purified after bathing in Revā.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Dharmarāja (contextual epithet for the virtuous king/father figure)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification is both practical and spiritual: as washing removes external stain, sacred practice removes inner impurity when guided by dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly the Narmadā tīrtha context continues; this verse emphasizes the effect (purification) rather than naming the site again.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new prescription; it reinforces the purificatory result associated with tīrtha practice (especially snāna).