Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

प्रतिमासं तृतीयायामेवमाराध्य वत्सरम् । व्रतसंपूर्तये कुर्यात्स्थंडिलेऽग्निसमर्चनम्

Transliteration

pratimāsaṃ tṛtīyāyāmevamārādhya vatsaram | vratasaṃpūrtaye kuryātsthaṃḍile'gnisamarcanam

Translation

So soll man am dritten Mondtag (tṛtīyā) eines jeden Monats ein volles Jahr lang verehren; und zur Vollendung des Gelübdes vollziehe man die Feuerverehrung auf einem bereiteten Erdaltar (sthaṇḍila).

Word by Word

• prati-māsam: every month
• prati-māsam: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prati (अव्यय) + māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययत्वेन प्रयोगः; अर्थे—प्रत्येकमासम् (each month)

• tṛtīyāyām: on the third (tithi)
• tṛtīyāyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tṛtīyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; तृतीया-तिथौ (on the third lunar day)

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (manner-adverb)

• ārādhya: having worshipped
• ārādhya: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√rādh (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वकर्म (having worshipped/propitiated)

• vatsaram: for a year
• vatsaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कालपरिमाणम्

• vrata-saṃpūrtaye: for the completion of the vow
• vrata-saṃpūrtaye: Sampradana (Purpose/प्रयोजन-सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃpūrti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (vratasya saṃpūrtiḥ); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे (for the purpose)

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• sthaṃḍile: on a (prepared) ground/altar-spot
• sthaṃḍile: Adhikarana (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthaṃḍila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; स्थानाधिकरणे (on the ground/altar-spot)

• agni-samarcanam: proper worship of Agni
• agni-samarcanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक) + sam-arcanam (√arc धातु; प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-नाम)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (agner samarcanam); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मरूपेण

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa typically Skanda instructing Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A night-time vow-completion scene in Kāśī: a devotee prepares a square earthen sthaṇḍila, kindles a small sacred fire, and offers oblations with folded hands; distant silhouettes of ghāṭas and temple spires suggest the city’s sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Tṛtīyā (lunar day)
• Agni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady monthly discipline culminates in a concluding rite, emphasizing completion (saṃpūrti) in dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī is the textual setting; the verse highlights a vrata practice associated with Kāśī’s ritual life.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship on monthly tṛtīyā for one year, then perform sthaṇḍila-based fire worship to complete the vow.