Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

वर्जयेच्छ्रावणे शाकं दधि भाद्रपदे च यः । क्षीरमाश्वयुजे मासि कार्तिके च सदामिषम्

Transliteration

varjayecchrāvaṇe śākaṃ dadhi bhādrapade ca yaḥ | kṣīramāśvayuje māsi kārtike ca sadāmiṣam

Translation

لذلك ينبغي للمتعبّد أن يجتنب الخُضَر الورقية في شرافَنا، وأن يجتنب اللبن الرائب في بهادرابادا، وأن يجتنب الحليب في آشڤايوجا؛ وفي كارتّيكا (Kārttika) فليجتنب اللحم كلّه.

Word by Word

• varjayet: should avoid
• varjayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛj/varj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• śrāvaṇe: in Śrāvaṇa
• śrāvaṇe: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• śākam: vegetables/greens
• śākam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• dadhi: curd
• dadhi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• bhādrapade: in Bhādrapada
• bhādrapade: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhādrapada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• kṣīram: milk
• kṣīram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• āśvayuje: in Āśvayuja
• āśvayuje: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśvayuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• māsi: in the month
• māsi: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• kārtike: in Kārtika
• kārtike: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārtika (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• sadā-āmiṣam: meat always (i.e., meat in general)
• sadā-āmiṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sadā (अव्यय) + āmiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (sadā + āmiṣam); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from Māhātmya-style narration in Nāgarakhaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vrata-observer in simple white cloth, calendar of sacred months behind, offering satvic food before a Viṣṇu shrine; rejected items (greens/curd/milk/meat) shown set aside as symbols of restraint.

Characters & Entities

• Śrāvaṇa
• Bhādrapada
• Āśvayuja
• Kārttika

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time is honored through conscious restraint: month-specific abstentions cultivate purity, devotion, and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it is a Cāturmāsya/Kārttika vrata injunction within the Māhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Avoid greens in Śrāvaṇa, curd in Bhādrapada, milk in Āśvayuja, and abstain from meat entirely in Kārttika.