Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

महीसा गरकूले तु ये मां स्तोष्यंति पूजया । तेषां दतक्षयं सर्वं वैशाख्यां दानपूजनम्

Transliteration

mahīsā garakūle tu ye māṃ stoṣyaṃti pūjayā | teṣāṃ datakṣayaṃ sarvaṃ vaiśākhyāṃ dānapūjanam

Translation

Those who, on the bank of the Mahī at Garakūla, gladden me through worship—every act of charity (dāna) and every rite of worship they perform in the month of Vaiśākha becomes imperishable, never wasted.

Word by Word

• mahīsāḥ: buffaloes (or: great lords; here likely buffalo-demons)
• mahīsāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahīsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; Nominative plural

• garakūle: in the Garakūla (place/lineage)
• garakūle: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garakūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचनम्; Locative singular

• tu: indeed, but
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषण-अव्ययम्; particle ‘but/indeed’

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचनम्; Relative pronoun

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; Accusative singular

• stoṣyanti: will praise
• stoṣyanti: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: stu (स्तु धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple future), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचनम्

• pūjayā: with worship
• pūjayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūjā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनम्; Instrumental singular

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, बहुवचनम्; Genitive plural

• dat-kṣayam: tooth-decay / decay (as per reading)
• dat-kṣayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dat (दत्/दन्त्-प्रातिपदिक ‘tooth’?) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः; पाठभेद-संदेहः: ‘दतक्षयम्’ सम्भवतः ‘दत्त-क्षयम्’/‘दन्त-क्षयम्’; as written ‘datakṣayam’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• sarvam: all, entire
• sarvam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; agreeing with datakṣayam

• vaiśākhyām: in (the month of) Vaiśākha
• vaiśākhyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśākhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचनम्; Locative singular (time)

• dāna-pūjanam: giving and worship
• dāna-pūjanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक) + pūjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (द्वन्द्वः: ‘दानं च पूजनं च’), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; appositional/subject complement

Speaker

Kumāreśvara (Skanda/Kārttikeya) (contextual attribution)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahī-tīra (Garakūla)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: the addressed devotee and the wider audience of pilgrims

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A riverbank tīrtha scene: devotees worship Śiva on the Mahī at Garakūla; in Vaiśākha they give charity and perform pūjā, with the merit depicted as an eternal, unwithering radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Mahī (river)
• Garakūla
• Vaiśākha
• Kumāreśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worship at a sanctified tirtha amplifies merit; in Vaiśākha, dāna and pūjā yield enduring spiritual fruit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Garakūla on the bank of the river Mahī, connected with Kumāreśvara worship.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform pūjā to please the deity, and undertake dāna (charity) and pūjana especially in the month of Vaiśākha.