Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

अष्टम्यां च चतुर्दश्यां यश्चैतत्स्नापयिष्यति । याज्ञवल्क्येश्वरोत्थं च स वै श्रेयो ह्यवाप्स्यति

Transliteration

aṣṭamyāṃ ca caturdaśyāṃ yaścaitatsnāpayiṣyati | yājñavalkyeśvarotthaṃ ca sa vai śreyo hyavāpsyati

Translation

Wer an Aṣṭamī und an Caturdaśī, am achten und am vierzehnten Mondtag, diesen Liṅga badet und rituell besprengt—und ebenso das mit Yājñavalkyeśvara Verbundene verehrt—der erlangt gewiss das höchste Heil.

Word by Word

• aṣṭamyām: on the eighth (lunar day)
• aṣṭamyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन; तिथिवाचक

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

• caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth (lunar day)
• caturdaśyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तिथिवाचक

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

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

• etat: this (liṅga)
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम; कर्मपदम् (object of snāpayiṣyati)

• snāpayiṣyati: will bathe (perform ablution of)
• snāpayiṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (स्ना) (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (परस्मैपद) = Simple Future; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोजक (causative) 'स्नापयति' = causes to bathe; future = will bathe (perform ablution)

• yājñavalkya-īśvara-uttham: arising from Yājñavalkyeśvara
• yājñavalkya-īśvara-uttham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yājñavalkya (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + uttha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष 'याज्ञवल्क्येश्वरात् उत्थम्' = arisen from Yājñavalkyeśvara; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (śreyaḥ)

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

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; correlative pronoun

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चयार्थ-निपात) = emphatic particle

• śreyaḥ: the highest good, merit
• śreyaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śreyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म (object of avāpsyati)

• hi: surely
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (हेतौ/निश्चयार्थ-निपात) = particle 'for/indeed'

• avāpsyati: will obtain
• avāpsyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-√āp (आप्) (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (परस्मैपद) = Simple Future; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Contextual narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa (speaker not explicitly marked in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kaṃsārīśvara; Yājñavalkyeśvara (associated)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotees pour streams of water over a liṅga on Aṣṭamī/Caturdaśī; nearby, a second shrine marker indicates Yājñavalkyeśvara; lamps flicker as priests chant.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Liṅga)
• Yājñavalkyeśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Timely observance—ritual worship on sacred lunar days—brings śreyas (lasting spiritual welfare).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Nāgarakhaṇḍa shrine of the Liṅga (Kaṃsārīśvara context) with an associated reference to Yājñavalkyeśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāpana (ritual bathing) of the Liṅga specifically on Aṣṭamī and Caturdaśī tithis.