Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 89

Devanagari script

मार्गशीर्षे च सम्प्राप्ते गीतनृत्यादिकं नरः । तदग्रे कुरुते भक्त्या स गच्छति परां गतिम्

Transliteration

mārgaśīrṣe ca samprāpte gītanṛtyādikaṃ naraḥ | tadagre kurute bhaktyā sa gacchati parāṃ gatim

Translation

Und wenn der Monat Mārgaśīrṣa eintritt, gelangt der Mensch, der in Bhakti vor ihm (dem Liṅga) Gesang, Tanz und Ähnliches darbringt, zum höchsten Ziel.

Word by Word

• mārgaśīrṣe: in (the month of) Mārgaśīrṣa
• mārgaśīrṣe: Adhikarana (Time locus/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārgaśīrṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — locative ‘in Mārgaśīrṣa’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) — conjunction ‘and’

• samprāpte: when (it) has arrived
• samprāpte: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam+√prāp (धातु) → samprāpta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुं/नपुं, सप्तमी, एकवचन — locative absolute with mārgaśīrṣe: ‘when (it) has arrived’

• gīta-nṛtya-ādikam: singing, dancing, and the like
• gīta-nṛtya-ādikam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gīta (प्रातिपदिक) + nṛtya (प्रातिपदिक) + ādika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — द्वन्द्व-समास (समाहार-द्वन्द्व): ‘singing, dancing, etc.’ as a set

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — subject ‘a man’

• tadagre: before it; in its presence
• tadagre: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + agre (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक ‘agra’)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोग — ‘in front of that/therebefore’

• kurute: performs
• kurute: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद — ‘does/performs’

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karana (Manner/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन — instrumental ‘with devotion’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — demonstrative pronoun ‘he’

• gacchati: goes; attains
• gacchati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘goes/attains’

• parām: supreme
• parām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषण of ‘gatim’

• gatim: state; destination
• gatim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — object of ‘gacchati’

Speaker

Sūta (narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kalaśeśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: General devotees (naraḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārgaśīrṣa festival at the shrine: devotees sing and dance in a semicircle before the liṅga; drums and cymbals accompany; the sanctum radiates calm power as the worship becomes ecstatic yet disciplined.

Characters & Entities

• Mārgaśīrṣa (month)
• Śiva-liṅga (Kalaśeśvara, implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Joyful devotional expression (song and dance) offered to the deity at a sacred place is affirmed as a valid path to the highest spiritual attainment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The worship is to be performed before the Kalaśeśvara liṅga referenced in Adhyāya 51.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

In Mārgaśīrṣa, perform gīta-nṛtya (devotional singing and dancing) before the liṅga with bhakti.