Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

पौर्णमास्याममावास्यां महीसागरसंगमे । श्राद्धं कृत्वा च योऽभ्यर्च्चेंत्स्तंभेश्वरमकल्मषः

Transliteration

paurṇamāsyāmamāvāsyāṃ mahīsāgarasaṃgame | śrāddhaṃ kṛtvā ca yo'bhyarcceṃtstaṃbheśvaramakalmaṣaḥ

Translation

Am Zusammenfluss des Mahī-Flusses mit dem Ozean, am Vollmond- oder Neumondtag, wird derjenige, der das Śrāddha vollzieht und dann Staṃbheśvara verehrt, frei von Unreinheit.

Word by Word

• paurṇamāsyām: on the full-moon day
• paurṇamāsyām: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paurṇamāsī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• amāvāsyām: on the new-moon day
• amāvāsyām: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amāvāsyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• mahī-sāgara-saṃgame: at the confluence of land and ocean
• mahī-sāgara-saṃgame: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक) + sāgara (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (Genitive determinative): 'mahīyāḥ sāgarasya saṃgamaḥ'

• śrāddham: the śrāddha rite
• śrāddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• kṛtvā: having performed
• kṛtvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial to main verb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव (indeclinable verbal), 'having done'

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

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

• abhyarcet: would worship
• abhyarcet: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-arc (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada)

• staṃbheśvaram: Stambheśvara (Lord of the pillar)
• staṃbheśvaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: staṃbha (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'staṃbhasya īśvaraḥ'

• akalmaṣaḥ: sinless, free from impurity
• akalmaṣaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-kalmaṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); नञ्-प्रत्यय (negative prefix)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating the Māhātmya (contextual attribution within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahī-sāgara-saṅgama; Staṃbheśvara-kṣetra (as implied by liṅga worship)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (Contextual) audience of the māhātmya (often sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A coastal river-mouth at dawn: devotees perform śrāddha offerings facing the water; nearby stands the Staṃbheśvara liṅga shrine; conch and bells sound as worship follows the ancestral rite.

Characters & Entities

• Mahī
• Sāgara
• Paurṇamāsī
• Amāvāsyā
• Śrāddha
• Staṃbheśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral duty (śrāddha) joined with Śiva worship at a sacred confluence purifies and removes moral taint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Mahī–Sāgara Saṅgama (confluence of the Mahī river with the ocean) and the shrine of Staṃbheśvara there.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha on Paurṇimā or Amāvāsyā at the saṅgama, then worship Staṃbheśvara.