Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

दुष्करं दुर्लभं लोके चातुर्मास्ये मखाधिकम् । दिवसेदिवसे तस्य यज्ञायुतफलं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

duṣkaraṃ durlabhaṃ loke cāturmāsye makhādhikam | divasedivase tasya yajñāyutaphalaṃ smṛtam

Translation

In der Welt ist es schwer und selten; in der Zeit des Cāturmāsya überragt es selbst Opferhandlungen. Tag für Tag gilt seine Frucht als der Ertrag von zehntausend Yajñas.

Word by Word

• दुष्करम्: difficult (to do)
• दुष्करम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुष्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg adjective)

• दुर्लभम्: hard to obtain, rare
• दुर्लभम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg adjective)

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (locative singular)

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya (four-month observance)
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (locative singular)

• मखाधिकम्: greater than (other) sacrifices
• मखाधिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मख + अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मखानाम् अधिकम्) (neuter nom/acc sg; ‘greater than sacrifices’)

• दिवसे: on a day
• दिवसे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (locative singular)

• दिवसे: (on) each day
• दिवसे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (locative singular); पुनरुक्ति (day by day)

• तस्य: of that (observance)
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन (genitive singular pronoun)

• यज्ञायुतफलम्: the fruit of ten-thousand sacrifices
• यज्ञायुतफलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ + अयुत + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (यज्ञानाम् अयुतस्य फलम्) (neuter nom/acc sg)

• स्मृतम्: is declared/remembered
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) → स्मृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘is said/remembered’ (past passive participle)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahāpārāka (Cāturmāsya observance)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee persists through Cāturmāsya day after day—simple meals, lamp offerings, and prayer—while grand yajña fires appear faint in the background, symbolically surpassed by steady vrata.

Characters & Entities

• Cāturmāsya
• Yajña

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sustained discipline in sacred time (Cāturmāsya) can surpass even grand ritual sacrifice in spiritual merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse primarily glorifies sacred time (Cāturmāsya) within a Tīrthamāhātmya setting rather than naming a single site in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Cāturmāsya observance (implied vow/fasting discipline) is praised, with daily merit equated to the fruit of ten thousand yajñas.