Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

यस्तान्वसूञ्छुचिर्भूत्वा स्नात्वा धौतांबरो नरः । तर्पयित्वा द्विजश्रेष्ठान्पश्चात्संपूजयेन्नरः

Transliteration

yastānvasūñchucirbhūtvā snātvā dhautāṃbaro naraḥ | tarpayitvā dvijaśreṣṭhānpaścātsaṃpūjayennaraḥ

Translation

若有人先令自身清净，沐浴并着洁净衣服，继而以“塔尔帕那”供献使最胜婆罗门得以满足，然后再圆满礼拜供养诸婆苏——此即如法之行。

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who (he)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• tān: those
• tān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural) — ‘vasūn’ इत्यस्य निर्देशः

• vasūn: the Vasus
• vasūn: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• śuciḥ: pure
• śuciḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular) — कर्तृविशेषणम्

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Kriya (Non-finite/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Kridanta
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया (having become)

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya (Non-finite/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Kridanta
• Root: √snā (स्ना धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वक्रिया (having bathed)

• dhauta-ambaraḥ: wearing washed garments
• dhauta-ambaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhauta (√dhāv/√dhū? धाव्/धू धातु, क्त) + ambara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘धौतं अम्बरं यस्य’ इति बहुव्रीहिवत् प्रयोगः), पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular) — कर्तृविशेषणम्

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• tarpayitvā: having satisfied
• tarpayitvā: Kriya (Non-finite/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Kridanta
• Root: √tṛp (तृप् धातु) (causative: tarpay-)
• Form: णिच्-प्रत्ययान्त causative धातु ‘तर्पय-’ + क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund): ‘having satisfied (by libations)’

• dvija-śreṣṭhān: the best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvija-śreṣṭhān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी: ‘द्विजानां श्रेष्ठान्’), पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• paścāt: afterwards
• paścāt: Kala (Sequence/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paścāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, काल/क्रमवाचक (afterwards)

• saṃpūjayet: should worship fully
• saṃpūjayet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√pūj (पूज् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• naraḥ: the man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular) — पुनरुक्त कर्ता

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: brāhmaṇa-śreṣṭha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at dawn completes snāna, changes into spotless garments, then respectfully offers water and gifts to seated brāhmaṇas; afterward he approaches a Vasu shrine/altar with lamps and offerings for full worship.

Characters & Entities

• Vasu (Aṣṭa-Vasu)
• Dvija (Brāhmaṇa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual purity and honoring dharma-bearers (brāhmaṇas) are presented as essential steps before deity worship in a tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ongoing rite belongs to Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra in this chapter’s tīrtha-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Become pure, perform snāna, wear clean clothes, do tarpana/satisfaction offerings to brāhmaṇas, then perform complete worship of the Vasus.