Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

शुक्लपक्षे तु सप्तम्यां यदा संक्रमते रविः । महाजया तदा ख्याता सप्तमी भास्करप्रिया

Transliteration

śuklapakṣe tu saptamyāṃ yadā saṃkramate raviḥ | mahājayā tadā khyātā saptamī bhāskarapriyā

Translation

إذا كان ذلك في سبتَمي (اليوم السابع) من النصف المضيء، حين يدخل رَڤي (الشمس) انتقالَ السَّنكرانتي إلى برجٍ جديد، عُرفت تلك السبتَمي باسم «مهاجايا»، وهي سبتَمي محبوبة لدى بهاسكارا.

Word by Word

• śukla-pakṣe: in the bright fortnight
• śukla-pakṣe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śukla (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative of time)

• tu: indeed/and
• tu: Sambandha/Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle); अवधान/विरोधार्थक

• saptamyām: on the seventh (tithi)
• saptamyām: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saptamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; कालाधिकरण

• yadā: when
• yadā: Temporal marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• saṃkramate: transits/enters (a sign)
• saṃkramate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: saṃ-√kram (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• raviḥ: the Sun
• raviḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ravi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्ता

• mahā-jayā: (called) Mahājayā
• mahā-jayā: Karta/Predicate-noun (नाम)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + jayā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; नाम (tithi-name)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Temporal marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (then)

• khyātā: is known/called
• khyātā: Predicate adjective (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √khyā (धातु) + -ta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेयविशेषण

• saptamī: the seventh (tithi)
• saptamī: Karta/Predicate-noun
• Type: Noun
• Root: saptamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विषय (the 7th tithi)

• bhāskara-priyā: dear to Bhāskara (the Sun)
• bhāskara-priyā: Predicate adjective (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhāskara (प्रातिपदिक) + priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (bhāskarasya priyā)

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahājayā Saptamī (Bhāskara-priyā) at Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bright-fortnight Saptamī sunrise with the Sun crossing a zodiac gateway (saṅkrānti); devotees at Prabhāsa perform arghya; a banner reads ‘Mahājayā’ as an auspicious day.

Characters & Entities

• Ravi
• Bhāskara
• Saptamī
• Saṅkrānti
• Mahājayā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred timing matters: aligning devotion with auspicious lunar-solar conjunctions intensifies religious merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The observance is taught within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, implying Prabhāsa as the preferred setting for Sūrya devotion.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observing/worshipping on Śukla Saptamī when Sūrya’s saṅkrānti occurs—called Mahājayā, dear to Bhāskara.