Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 116

Devanagari script

रात्रौ देवाग्रतो गत्वा कर्त्तव्याः सप्त पर्वताः । पक्वान्नफलतांबूलपुष्पधूपादिचर्चिताः

Transliteration

rātrau devāgrato gatvā karttavyāḥ sapta parvatāḥ | pakvānnaphalatāṃbūlapuṣpadhūpādicarcitāḥ

Translation

Nachts, vor die Gottheit tretend, soll man sieben ‘Parvatas’ (rituelle Opferhaufen) bereiten, geschmückt mit gekochter Speise, Früchten, Betel, Blumen, Weihrauch und ähnlichen Gaben.

Word by Word

• रात्रौ: at night
• रात्रौ: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; काल/देशाधिकरण

• देवाग्रतः: in front of the deity
• देवाग्रतः: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: देव-अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; स्थानवाचक (adverb of place)

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वक्रिया

• कर्त्तव्याः: should be made/performed
• कर्त्तव्याः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) + तव्यत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: कर्तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; पर्वताः इति सह—‘are to be made/done’

• सप्त: seven
• सप्त: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या-विशेषणम्; पर्वताः इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• पर्वताः: mounds/‘mountains’ (offerings shaped as heaps)
• पर्वताः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• पक्वान्नफलताम्बूलपुष्पधूपादिचर्चिताः: adorned with cooked food, fruits, betel, flowers, incense, etc.
• पक्वान्नफलताम्बूलपुष्पधूपादिचर्चिताः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पक्व-अन्न-फल-ताम्बूल-पुष्प-धूप-आदि-चर्चित (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (चर्चित = √चर्च्/चर्? ‘to smear/adorn’ + क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; पर्वताः इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्; समाहार/सूची-समास-प्रायः (बहुपद-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A night-time shrine scene: the devotee approaches the deity and arranges seven small mound-like offering-heaps before the sanctum, each crowned with flowers and surrounded by plates of cooked rice, fruits, betel leaves, and curling incense smoke.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Pūjā offerings
• Sapta-parvata (ritual offering)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Night worship is intensified through structured offerings, expressing devotion through ordered, abundant upacāras.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The rite is taught within Vastrāpathakṣetra Māhātmya in Prabhāsa, aligning local worship with pan-Śaiva practice.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

At night before the deity, arrange seven ‘parvata’ offerings with cooked food, fruits, betel, flowers, incense, etc.