Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

करणं पंचयज्ञानां सततं तप एव हि । तन्निवेद्य हरौ चैव चातुर्मास्ये महत्तपः

Transliteration

karaṇaṃ paṃcayajñānāṃ satataṃ tapa eva hi | tannivedya harau caiva cāturmāsye mahattapaḥ

Translation

إن المواظبة على أداء القرابين الخمسة اليومية هي حقًّا تَپَس (زهدٌ وتقشّف). وتقديم ثمارها إلى هاري، ولا سيّما في زمن تشاتورماسيا، يُسمّى تقشّفًا عظيمًا.

Word by Word

• karaṇam: performance/doing
• karaṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम् (nominative/accusative singular)

• paṃcayajñānām: of the five sacrifices
• paṃcayajñānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañca + yajña (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी बहुवचनम्; द्विगु-समासः (पञ्च यज्ञाः) (genitive plural)

• satatam: constantly
• satatam: Adhikarana (Manner/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण नपुंसक-एकवचनम्; अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः (adverbial: ‘constantly’)

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Pradhana-predicative (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (nominative singular)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्ययम् (emphatic particle)

• hi: for/indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/हेतुवाचक-अव्ययम् (particle: for/indeed)

• tat: that (act)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (accusative singular)

• nivedya: having offered/dedicated
• nivedya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ni-√vid (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्ययकृदन्तम् (gerund/absolutive: ‘having offered/dedicated’)

• harau: to/in Hari
• harau: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनम् (locative singular)

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्ययम् (emphatic particle)

• cāturmāsye: in the four-month period (Cāturmāsya)
• cāturmāsye: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāturmāsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (चतुर्-मास-संबन्धि) (locative singular)

• mahattapaḥ: (is) great austerity
• mahattapaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahat + tapas (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; कर्मधारयः (nominative singular)

Speaker

Brahmā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A householder performs daily rites: feeding guests, offering to ancestors, reciting Veda, feeding beings, and worshiping devas—then mentally offers all fruits to Hari; monsoon setting indicates Cāturmāsya.

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Pañcamahāyajña
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Daily duties become higher tapas when their merit is surrendered to God; devotion perfects obligation.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the teaching functions within the wider Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Maintain the pañcamahāyajñas and dedicate their fruits to Hari, particularly in Cāturmāsya.