Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

ततोऽहं तस्य वाक्येन दीपोत्सवदिने सदा । निशीथेऽत्र समा गत्य भक्षयामि निजां तनुम्

Transliteration

tato'haṃ tasya vākyena dīpotsavadine sadā | niśīthe'tra samā gatya bhakṣayāmi nijāṃ tanum

Translation

Dann, auf seinen Befehl hin, komme ich am Tag des Lichterfestes immer um Mitternacht hierher und verzehre meinen eigenen Körper.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध-क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): तस्मात्/ततः = 'then/thereafter'

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुं/स्त्री (pronoun), प्रथमा (1st case/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• tasya: of him/that
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th case/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• vākyena: by (his) statement/words
• vākyena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया (3rd case/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• dīpotsava-dine: on the day of the lamp-festival
• dīpotsava-dine: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīpa (प्रातिपदिक) + utsava (प्रातिपदिक) + dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: दीपोत्सवदिन (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/निर्देश), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case/Locative), एकवचन

• sadā: always
• sadā: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): नित्यं

• niśīthe: at midnight
• niśīthe: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśītha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (deictic adverb): 'here'

• samāḥ: years
• samāḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); 'समाः' = years (elliptic 'वर्षाः')

• gatya: having gone
• gatya: Sambandha (पूर्वक्रिया/Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/absolutive), 'गत्वा' (here 'गत्य' as variant)

• bhakṣayāmi: I eat/devour
• bhakṣayāmi: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhakṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• nijām: one's own
• nijām: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण of 'तनुम्'

• tanum: body
• tanum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

The petitioner/character (narrating their ongoing condition)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tormented being arrives at a sacred spot at midnight on the lamp-festival; rows of oil-lamps flicker along water/steps while the figure, under a command/curse, performs the horrific act of devouring its own body—an image of cyclic suffering amid sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Dīpotsava (festival of lamps)
• niśītha (midnight)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred times (festival days and midnight moments) are portrayed as spiritually potent, where karmic conditions unfold with precision.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same ‘here’ (atra) indicates the central tīrtha location of the chapter, where the midnight event repeatedly occurs.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A time-marker is given: Dīpotsava day and niśītha (midnight). While not a standard injunction, it functions as a narrative observance tied to the site.