Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

नन्दने वत्सरे माघे पञ्चम्यां भरतर्षभ । शस्ते तु ह्युत्तरायोगे कुम्भस्थे शशिमण्डले

Transliteration

nandane vatsare māghe pañcamyāṃ bharatarṣabha | śaste tu hyuttarāyoge kumbhasthe śaśimaṇḍale

Translation

Im Jahr Nandana, im Monat Māgha, am fünften Mondtag—o Stier unter den Bharatas—zur glückverheißenden Zeit des uttarāyaṇa, als der Mond im Kumbha (Wassermann) stand…

Word by Word

• नन्दने: in the Nandana (named)
• नन्दने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (7th/Locative), एकवचनम्; विशेषणरूपेण (as qualifier)

• वत्सरे: in the year
• वत्सरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्सर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• माघे: in (the month of) Māgha
• माघे: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• पञ्चम्याम्: on the fifth (lunar day)
• पञ्चम्याम्: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चमी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (tithi-name)

• भरतर्षभ: O bull among the Bharatas
• भरतर्षभ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत-ऋषभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) ‘भरतानाम् ऋषभः’

• शस्ते: at an auspicious (time)
• शस्ते: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (particle)

• हि: for/indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (emphatic/causal particle)

• उत्तरायोगे: in the northern conjunction/auspicious alignment
• उत्तरायोगे: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तर-योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (कर्मधारय/निर्धारणभावः) ‘उत्तरः योगः’

• कुम्भस्थे: when (the moon) is in Aquarius
• कुम्भस्थे: Adhikarana (Time/astral location)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुम्भ-स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः) ‘कुम्भे स्थितः’

• शशिमण्डले: in the lunar orb
• शशिमण्डले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शशि-मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) ‘शशिनः मण्डलम्’

Speaker

Narrator (within the adhyāya’s tīrtha-foundation account)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhṛgukaccha (contextual emergence)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bharatārṣabha (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage or narrator marks an auspicious moment: Māgha month, Pañcamī tithi, uttarāyaṇa; the Moon depicted in Aquarius above a riverine sacred landscape, signaling the commencement of a tīrtha’s rise to prominence.

Characters & Entities

• Māgha
• Nandana (year)
• Uttarāyaṇa
• Kumbha-rāśi (Aquarius)
• Śaśin (Moon)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma emphasizes right timing (kāla) for sacred acts; cosmic order supports religious foundations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse supplies the calendrical setting for the establishment of the Revā-side kṣetra later identified with Bhṛgukaccha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit: undertaking consecratory acts on Māgha pañcamī in an auspicious muhūrta (uttarāyaṇa; Moon in Kumbha).