Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

अर्धरात्रे विधानेन तेषां पूजां करोति यः । प्रागुक्तं जपनं भक्त्या स क्रमात्साधकोत्तमः

Transliteration

ardharātre vidhānena teṣāṃ pūjāṃ karoti yaḥ | prāguktaṃ japanaṃ bhaktyā sa kramātsādhakottamaḥ

Translation

Wer nach der vorgeschriebenen Ordnung ihre Verehrung um Mitternacht vollzieht und in Hingabe die zuvor genannte Japa ausführt—der wird nach und nach zum vorzüglichsten der Sādhakas.

Word by Word

• ardharātre: at midnight
• ardharātre: Adhikarana (Temporal locus/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ardharātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः (अर्धं रात्रेः); पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचनम्; कालाधिकरणम्

• vidhānena: by (the) prescribed procedure
• vidhānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचनम्; करणम् (instrumental: by the prescribed procedure)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचनम्; सर्वनाम (genitive: of them)

• pūjām: worship
• pūjām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūjā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचनम्; कर्म (object)

• karoti: does/performs
• karoti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम्

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचनम्; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• prāk-uktam: previously stated
• prāk-uktam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāk (अव्यय) + ukta (कृदन्त; √vac वच्, क्त)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (previously said)

• japanam: recitation (japa)
• japanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: japana (प्रातिपदिक; from √jap जप्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्; कर्म

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचनम्; करणम् (instrumental: with devotion)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• kramāt: in due order/gradually
• kramāt: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: krama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावार्थे पञ्चमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययवत् (ablatival adverb: in due order/gradually)

• sādhaka-uttamaḥ: the best practitioner
• sādhaka-uttamaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhaka (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमासः; पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचनम्; विधेय (predicate nominative)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ (addressed audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At midnight, a devotee performs ritual worship before sacred emblems (liṅga/associated deities), then sits for mantra-japa; lamps burn low, shadows deepen, the rite feels charged and secret.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Bhakti combined with correct ritual discipline (vidhi) matures the aspirant into a superior sādhaka.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse pertains to the liṅga complex described in Adhyāya 154; the tīrtha name is not stated in this excerpt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Midnight worship (ardharātra-pūjā) and the previously taught japa are prescribed.