Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

करणं पंचयज्ञानां सततं तप एव हि । तन्निवेद्य हरौ चैव चातुर्मास्ये महत्तपः

Transliteration

karaṇaṃ paṃcayajñānāṃ satataṃ tapa eva hi | tannivedya harau caiva cāturmāsye mahattapaḥ

Translation

Die beständige Ausübung der fünf täglichen Opferhandlungen ist wahrlich Tapas. Und ihre Früchte Hari darzubringen—besonders während der Cāturmāsya-Zeit—heißt große Askese.

Word by Word

• karaṇam: performance/doing
• karaṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम् (nominative/accusative singular)

• paṃcayajñānām: of the five sacrifices
• paṃcayajñānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañca + yajña (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी बहुवचनम्; द्विगु-समासः (पञ्च यज्ञाः) (genitive plural)

• satatam: constantly
• satatam: Adhikarana (Manner/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण नपुंसक-एकवचनम्; अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः (adverbial: ‘constantly’)

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Pradhana-predicative (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम् (nominative singular)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्ययम् (emphatic particle)

• hi: for/indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/हेतुवाचक-अव्ययम् (particle: for/indeed)

• tat: that (act)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया एकवचनम् (accusative singular)

• nivedya: having offered/dedicated
• nivedya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ni-√vid (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्ययकृदन्तम् (gerund/absolutive: ‘having offered/dedicated’)

• harau: to/in Hari
• harau: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनम् (locative singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्ययम् (emphatic particle)

• cāturmāsye: in the four-month period (Cāturmāsya)
• cāturmāsye: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāturmāsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (चतुर्-मास-संबन्धि) (locative singular)

• mahattapaḥ: (is) great austerity
• mahattapaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahat + tapas (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; कर्मधारयः (nominative singular)

Speaker

Brahmā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A householder performs daily rites: feeding guests, offering to ancestors, reciting Veda, feeding beings, and worshiping devas—then mentally offers all fruits to Hari; monsoon setting indicates Cāturmāsya.

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Pañcamahāyajña
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Daily duties become higher tapas when their merit is surrendered to God; devotion perfects obligation.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the teaching functions within the wider Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Maintain the pañcamahāyajñas and dedicate their fruits to Hari, particularly in Cāturmāsya.