Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

अयनस्योत्तरस्यादौ मकरं याति भास्करः । ततः कुम्भं च मीनं च राशे राश्यंतरं तथा

Transliteration

ayanasyottarasyādau makaraṃ yāti bhāskaraḥ | tataḥ kumbhaṃ ca mīnaṃ ca rāśe rāśyaṃtaraṃ tathā

Translation

Zu Beginn des nördlichen Laufs (uttarāyaṇa) tritt Bhāskara in Makara (Steinbock) ein. Danach schreitet er zu Kumbha (Wassermann) und Mīna (Fische) fort und wechselt Zeichen um Zeichen in rechter Ordnung.

Word by Word

• ayanasya: of the solstice course (ayana)
• ayanasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• uttarasya: of the northern (uttara)
• uttarasya: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; विशेषण (ayanasya)

• ādau: at the beginning
• ādau: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; ‘आदि’ = beginning

• makaram: Capricorn (Makara sign)
• makaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: makara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• yāti: goes/enters
• yāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (या धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• bhāskaraḥ: the Sun
• bhāskaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāskara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रम/तस्मात्-अर्थे (then/thereafter)

• kumbham: Aquarius (Kumbha sign)
• kumbham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

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

• mīnam: Pisces (Mīna sign)
• mīnam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

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

• rāśe: in the zodiac sign
• rāśe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāśi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• rāśi-antaram: the next sign/interval of signs
• rāśi-antaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāśi + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘राशेः अन्तरम्’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थ (likewise/also)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa Sūta (deduced; Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration to sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Makara-saṅkrānti kāla (time-tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūrya’s chariot entering the Makara sector of a zodiac wheel, then moving sequentially to Kumbha and Mīna; the rāśi symbols appear as celestial emblems around a mandala.

Characters & Entities

• Bhāskara
• Uttarāyaṇa
• Makara
• Kumbha
• Mīna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Time is sacred and orderly; the Sun’s regulated passage through signs mirrors dharma’s structure in the cosmos.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned; the verse focuses on calendrical cosmology (ayana and rāśi).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; such passages commonly underpin observances tied to uttarāyaṇa and solar transitions.