Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

समुपोष्याष्टमीं भक्त्या साङ्गं वेदं पठेत्तु यः । अहोरात्रेण चैकेन ऋग्यजुःसामसंज्ञकम्

Transliteration

samupoṣyāṣṭamīṃ bhaktyā sāṅgaṃ vedaṃ paṭhettu yaḥ | ahorātreṇa caikena ṛgyajuḥsāmasaṃjñakam

Translation

Wer in Hingabe am achten Tage fastet und den Veda samt seinen Hilfslehren rezitiert—R̥g, Yajus und Sāman genannt—innerhalb eines einzigen Tages und einer einzigen Nacht,

Word by Word

• samupoṣya: having fasted
• samupoṣya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-upa-vas (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); 'having fasted/observed upavāsa'

• aṣṭamīm: the eighth (tithi)
• aṣṭamīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

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

• sa-aṅgam: together with its auxiliaries (Vedāṅgas)
• sa-aṅgam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थ) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावः—'with limbs/with auxiliaries' (i.e., with the Vedāṅgas)

• vedam: the Veda
• vedam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• paṭhet: should recite/read
• paṭhet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paṭh (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

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

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

• ahorātreṇa: within a day and night
• ahorātreṇa: Karana (Instrument/means; time-span/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahaḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + rātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; द्वन्द्वः (day+night)

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

• ekena: by one (single)
• ekena: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• ṛg-yajuḥ-sāma-saṃjñakam: called Ṛg, Yajus, and Sāma
• ṛg-yajuḥ-sāma-saṃjñakam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṛc (प्रातिपदिक) + yajuḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + sāman (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃjñā (प्रातिपदिक) + ka (क-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—'ṛg-yajuḥ-sāma' इति संज्ञा यस्य (saṃjñaka = named/called)

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing a King

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night-long vigil on a riverbank pavilion: a devotee fasting on aṣṭamī, seated with palm-leaf manuscripts, reciting Ṛg–Yajus–Sāman; lamps flicker; a small group listens in reverence.

Characters & Entities

• Aṣṭamī
• Veda
• Vedāṅga (implied by sāṅga)
• Ṛgveda
• Yajurveda
• Sāmaveda
• Vidhautapāpa Tīrtha (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion expressed through discipline (fasting) and sacred sound (Veda recitation) is upheld as a direct path to purification and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The prescription is given in the context of the Vidhautapāpa tīrtha on the Narmadā (Revā Khaṇḍa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upavāsa on Aṣṭamī and recitation of the Veda with its auxiliaries (sāṅga), specifically the Ṛg, Yajus, and Sāma, within one day-night.