Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

तं देवं सुकलत्राढ्यं तथैव परिपूजयेत् । त्रयोदश्यां द्विजश्रेष्ठाः केसरैः कुंकुमोद्भवैः

Transliteration

taṃ devaṃ sukalatrāḍhyaṃ tathaiva paripūjayet | trayodaśyāṃ dvijaśreṣṭhāḥ kesaraiḥ kuṃkumodbhavaiḥ

Translation

O Bester der Zweimalgeborenen, ebenso soll man jene Gottheit verehren—die mit einer glückverheißenden Gemahlin begabt ist—am Trayodaśī, indem man Safran und die duftenden Pulver darbringt, die aus Kuṅkuma hervorgehen.

Word by Word

• तम्: that (him)
• तम्: Karman (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• देवम्: the deity
• देवम्: Karman (कर्म; apposition to तम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सु-कलत्र-आढ्यम्: rich in a good spouse
• सु-कलत्र-आढ्यम्: Karman-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्म-समानााधिकरण/attributive to देवम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (अव्यय/उपसर्ग-सदृश) + कलत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आढ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• तथा: thus
• तथा: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• एव: indeed; just
• एव: Sambandha (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• परि-पूजयेत्: should worship
• परि-पूजयेत्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्ग: परि

• त्रयोदश्याम्: on the thirteenth (lunar day)
• त्रयोदश्याम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Locative of time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रयोदशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन; कालाधिकरण (time-locative)

• द्विज-श्रेष्ठाः: best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विज-श्रेष्ठाः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; understood with परिपूजयेत् as eligible agents)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे/कर्तरि प्रयोग (context: addressed/mentioned)

• केसरैः: with saffron threads/pollen
• केसरैः: Karana (करण/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केसर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• कुङ्कुम-उद्भवैः: arisen from saffron (i.e., saffron-produced)
• कुङ्कुम-उद्भवैः: Karana (करण; qualifier of instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुङ्कुम (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying केसरैः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; likely Sūta in the broader Tīrthamāhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (Saubhāgya-kūpikā associated)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brāhmaṇa devotee performs Trayodaśī worship to a deity with consort, offering saffron and kumkuma powders; the shrine is near a sacred well/stone emblem of the kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Deva (deity with consort)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Auspiciousness (saubhāgya) is cultivated through timely, reverent worship, especially when performed according to tithi-based dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Śrīhāṭakeśvara-kṣetra context within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya is being praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship on Trayodaśī (13th lunar day) with offerings of kesara (saffron) and kuṅkuma-derived fragrant substances.