Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

ज्येष्ठमासे कृष्णपक्षे चतुर्दश्यामुपोषितः । रात्रौ संपूज्य भीमेशं जन्मपापाद्विमुच्यते

Transliteration

jyeṣṭhamāse kṛṣṇapakṣe caturdaśyāmupoṣitaḥ | rātrau saṃpūjya bhīmeśaṃ janmapāpādvimucyate

Translation

One who fasts on the fourteenth lunar day (caturdaśī) of the dark fortnight in the month of Jyeṣṭha, and worships Bhīmeśa at night with full devotion, is released from the sins accumulated since birth.

Word by Word

• jyeṣṭha-māse: in the month of Jyeṣṭha
• jyeṣṭha-māse: Adhikaraṇa (Time locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyeṣṭha (ज्येष्ठ प्रातिपदिक) + māsa (मास प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः: ज्येष्ठस्य मासः); पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th, locative) एकवचन

• kṛṣṇa-pakṣe: in the dark fortnight
• kṛṣṇa-pakṣe: Adhikaraṇa (Time locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) + pakṣa (पक्ष)
• Form: समासः (कर्मधारयः: कृष्णः पक्षः); पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th) एकवचन

• caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth lunar day
• caturdaśyām: Adhikaraṇa (Time locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (चतुर्दशी प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th, locative) एकवचन

• upoṣitaḥ: having fasted
• upoṣitaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa-vas (उप + वस् धातु; उपोषणार्थ)
• Form: क्त (past participle); पुंलिङ्ग प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘having fasted’

• rātrau: at night
• rātrau: Adhikaraṇa (Time locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rātri (रात्रि प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th, locative) एकवचन

• saṃpūjya: having worshipped well
• saṃpūjya: Kriyā (Non-finite verb; prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-pūj (सम् + पूज् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); ‘having duly worshipped’

• bhīmeśam: Bhīmeśa (Śiva)
• bhīmeśam: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhīmeśa (भीमेश प्रातिपदिक; भिम + ईश)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन

• janma-pāpāt: from sin of birth
• janma-pāpāt: Apādāna (Source/ablative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janma (जन्म) + pāpa (पाप)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः: जन्मनः पापम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th, ablative) एकवचन

• vimucyate: is released / is freed
• vimucyate: Kriyā (Finite verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-muc (वि + मुच् धातु)
• Form: लट् (present); आत्मनेपदम्; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः—‘is freed’

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhīmeśvara

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night at the Bhīmeśvara temple: a devotee fasting, seated with folded hands; lamps flicker; the liṅga is bathed and adorned; moonlight suggests kṛṣṇa pakṣa caturdaśī; atmosphere of quiet intensity and purification.

Characters & Entities

• Bhīmeśa
• Śiva
• Jyeṣṭha-māsa
• Kṛṣṇapakṣa
• Caturdaśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Disciplined fasting joined with heartfelt night-worship of Śiva is taught as a direct means to purify even long-standing karmic faults.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse glorifies the sanctity of Bhīmeśa/Bhīmeśvara in the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa’s local Śaiva sacred geography (Sthala Māhātmya).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upavāsa (fasting) on Jyeṣṭha kṛṣṇapakṣa caturdaśī and nighttime pūjā of Bhīmeśa.