Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 163

Devanagari script

पुष्पादिपूजा द्वितीया तृतीया च प्रदक्षिणा । चतुर्थी स्तुतिवाग्रूपा पञ्चमी ईश्वरार्पणा

Transliteration

puṣpādipūjā dvitīyā tṛtīyā ca pradakṣiṇā | caturthī stutivāgrūpā pañcamī īśvarārpaṇā

Translation

Verehrung durch Blumenopfer und dergleichen ist das Zweite; Pradakṣiṇā, das ehrfürchtige Umschreiten, ist das Dritte. Das Vierte ist Lobpreis in heiliger Rede; das Fünfte ist das Darbringen von allem an den Herrn.

Word by Word

• puṣpa-ādi-pūjā: worship with flowers etc.
• puṣpa-ādi-pūjā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + pūjā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (समाहार/विषयसम्बन्धः: ‘पुष्पादीनां पूजा’); स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• dvitīyā: second
• dvitīyā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण

• tṛtīyā: third
• tṛtīyā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण

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

• pradakṣiṇā: circumambulation
• pradakṣiṇā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• caturthī: fourth
• caturthī: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturthī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण

• stuti-vāk-rūpā: in the form of words of praise
• stuti-vāk-rūpā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: stuti (प्रातिपदिक) + vāc (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (विशेष्य-विशेषणभावः: ‘स्तुतिरूपा वाक्’/‘स्तुतिवाक्-रूपा’); स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• pañcamī: fifth
• pañcamī: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañcamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण

• īśvara-arpaṇā: offering to the Lord
• īśvara-arpaṇā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + arpaṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (चतुर्थी/सम्प्रदानसम्बन्धः: ‘ईश्वराय अर्पणा’); स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhakti-nadī (2–5 limbs) within Vidyāvana

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee performs pañcopacāra with flowers; then circles a liṅga beneath a sacred tree; then stands with raised hands chanting stuti; finally places all offerings and a symbolic bundle of worldly duties at the Lord’s feet.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bhakti matures through concrete acts—worship, circumambulation, praise, and wholehearted surrender to Īśvara.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vidyāvana, where devotional practices are poetically mapped as sacred ‘rivers’ within the site’s māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Puṣpādi-pūjā (offering flowers), pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation), stuti (hymnic praise), and īśvarārpaṇā (dedication to the Lord).