Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

नवम्यां च महाराज स्नात्वा देवीमुपोषितः । पूजयेत्परया भक्त्या श्रद्धापूतेन चेतसा

Transliteration

navamyāṃ ca mahārāja snātvā devīmupoṣitaḥ | pūjayetparayā bhaktyā śraddhāpūtena cetasā

Translation

وفي اليوم القمري التاسع، أيها الملك العظيم، بعد الاغتسال ومراعاة الصوم، ينبغي أن تُعبد الإلهة بأسمى إخلاص وبقلبٍ طهّرته الثقة والإيمان.

Word by Word

• navamyām: on the ninth lunar day
• navamyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: navamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तिथिवाचक

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• mahārāja: O great king
• mahārāja: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (महान् राजा)

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; पूर्वक्रिया

• devīm: the Goddess
• devīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• upoṣitaḥ: having fasted
• upoṣitaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: upa- (उपसर्ग) + √vas (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तृविशेषण — ‘having fasted/observed a fast’

• pūjayet: should worship
• pūjayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pūj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• parayā: supreme/utter
• parayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; विशेषण (bhaktyā)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• śraddhāpūtena: purified by faith
• śraddhāpūtena: Karaṇa (Instrument qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śraddhā (प्रातिपदिक) + pūta (कृदन्त, √pū)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; समासः तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (श्रद्धया पूतः) — cetasā-विशेषण

• cetasā: with (one's) mind/heart
• cetasā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cetas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

Speaker

Markaṇḍeya (deduced; addressing Yudhiṣṭhira as mahārāja)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Devī-tīrtha on Revā (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: mahārāja/nṛpa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Navamī worship scene at river ghāṭa: devotee after snāna, fasting, seated with pūjā tray; Devī shrine adorned with fresh garlands; night sky suggests tithi observance.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Navamī
• Mahārāja (Yudhiṣṭhira implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual discipline joined with inner faith—snāna, fasting, and heartfelt devotion—makes worship spiritually effective.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is situated in the Revā Khaṇḍa context, implying a Devī-tīrtha in the Narmadā region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observe Navamī with bathing (snāna), fasting (upavāsa), and Devī worship (pūjā) performed with faith (śraddhā).