Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

वैशाखे कार्तिके माघे विशेषनियमांश्चरेत् । स्नानं दानं तीर्थयात्रां विष्णोर्नामग्रहं मुहुः

Transliteration

vaiśākhe kārtike māghe viśeṣaniyamāṃścaret | snānaṃ dānaṃ tīrthayātrāṃ viṣṇornāmagrahaṃ muhuḥ

Translation

In Vaiśākha, Kārtika und Māgha soll man besondere Gelübde üben: rituelles Bad, Almosengabe, Pilgerfahrt zu heiligen Tīrthas und häufiges Ergreifen des Namens Viṣṇus.

Word by Word

• vaiśākhe: in Vaiśākha (month)
• vaiśākhe: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśākha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (month-name)

• kārtike: in Kārtika
• kārtike: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārtika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (month-name)

• māghe: in Māgha
• māghe: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māgha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (month-name)

• viśeṣa-niyamān: special observances
• viśeṣa-niyamān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + niyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (विशेषाः नियमाः)

• caret: should practice/observe
• caret: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: car (चर्-धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• snānaṃ: bathing
• snānaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक; स्ना-धातोः ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• dānaṃ: charity/giving
• dānaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक; दा-धातोः ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tīrtha-yātrāṃ: pilgrimage to sacred places
• tīrtha-yātrāṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + yātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (तीर्थस्य यात्रा)

• viṣṇoḥ: of Viṣṇu
• viṣṇoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• nāma-grahaṃ: taking/uttering the name
• nāma-grahaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāma (प्रातिपदिक) + graha (प्रातिपदिक; ग्रह्-धातोः अच्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (नाम्नः ग्रहणम्)

• muhuḥ: repeatedly
• muhuḥ: Sambandha (Frequency/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: muhuḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: आवृत्तिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: repeatedly/often)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī–Gaṅgā tīrthas (and other tīrthas by yātrā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A triptych-like seasonal tableau: (1) Māgha dawn bath in misty Gaṅgā, (2) Kārtika lamp offerings along ghats with rows of dīpas, (3) Vaiśākha pilgrimage procession with tulasī, flags, and chanting of Viṣṇu names; all unified by a devotee’s continuous japa.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Viṣṇu
• Vaiśākha
• Kārtika
• Māgha
• Kāśī (implied context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred months are highlighted as intensified windows for discipline—purifying through bath, charity, pilgrimage, and divine name-remembrance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse encourages tīrtha-yātrā generally; within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, Kāśī stands as the overarching sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Special niyamas in Vaiśākha/Kārtika/Māgha: snāna, dāna, tīrtha-yātrā, and repeated Viṣṇu-nāma-graha (name repetition).