Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

शांडिल्य उवाच । पक्षद्वये त्रयोदश्यां निराहारो भवेद्यदा । घटीत्रयादस्तमयात्पूर्वं स्नानं समाचरेत्

Transliteration

śāṃḍilya uvāca | pakṣadvaye trayodaśyāṃ nirāhāro bhavedyadā | ghaṭītrayādastamayātpūrvaṃ snānaṃ samācaret

Translation

Śāṇḍilya sprach: Am dreizehnten Mondtag einer der beiden Monatshälften soll man, wenn man fastet, das rituelle Bad drei Ghaṭīs (etwa zweiundsiebzig Minuten) vor Sonnenuntergang vollziehen.

Word by Word

• śāṃḍilyaḥ: Śāṇḍilya
• śāṃḍilyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāṃḍilya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• pakṣa-dvaye: in the two fortnights
• pakṣa-dvaye: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: द्विगु 'द्वौ पक्षौ' (two fortnights); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• trayodaśyām: on the thirteenth (tithi)
• trayodaśyām: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trayodaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• nir-āhāraḥ: fasting (without food)
• nir-āhāraḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir (उपसर्ग) + āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (नञ्/निर्-पूर्वक) 'आहाररहितः' (without food); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bhavet: should be
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• yadā: when
• yadā: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक (when)

• ghaṭī-trayāt: from (a point) of three ghaṭīs
• ghaṭī-trayāt: Apādāna (Point of departure/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ghaṭī (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: द्विगु 'त्रिस्रः घटीः' (three ghaṭīs); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (ablative/5th), एकवचन (समूहवाचक)

• astamayāt: from sunset
• astamayāt: Apādāna (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: astamaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• pūrvam: before
• pūrvam: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक (before)

• snānam: bath
• snānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• samācaret: should perform
• samācaret: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā√car (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Śāṇḍilya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pradoṣa-vrata (Trayodaśī)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇa woman (vipravanitā)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee on Trayodaśī, fasting, bathing in a river/pond as the sun descends; then walking toward a Śiva shrine as lamps begin to glow at twilight.

Characters & Entities

• Śāṇḍilya
• Trayodaśī
• Pradoṣa (implied by timing before sunset)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Discipline in time, purity, and restraint prepares the devotee to approach Śiva worship with steadiness and reverence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse gives vrata-timing applicable wherever the observance is performed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Fast on Trayodaśī in either fortnight and bathe three ghaṭīs before sunset.