Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

दिवसेदिवसे तस्य द्वादशाहफलं लभेत् । द्वादशाक्षर माहात्म्यं वर्णितुं नैव शक्यते

Transliteration

divasedivase tasya dvādaśāhaphalaṃ labhet | dvādaśākṣara māhātmyaṃ varṇituṃ naiva śakyate

Translation

Día tras día, se obtiene el fruto de una observancia sagrada de doce días. La grandeza del Mantra de Doce Sílabas es, en verdad, imposible de describir por completo.

Word by Word

• दिवसे: on a day
• दिवसे: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण (time)

• दिवसे: day by day
• दिवसे: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (repetition for distributive sense)

• तस्य: for him/of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• द्वादशाहफलम्: the fruit of twelve days
• द्वादशाहफलम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादश-अह-फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म; समासः: द्वादशानाम् अह्नां फलम् (genitive-tatpuruṣa)

• लभेत्: would obtain/should obtain
• लभेत्: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• द्वादशाक्षर: of twelve syllables
• द्वादशाक्षर: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादश-अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of māhātmyam); समासः: द्वादशानाम् अक्षराणाम् (genitive-tatpuruṣa)

• माहात्म्यम्: greatness, glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karta (Subject/Predicate-noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृ/विषय (subject)

• वर्णितुम्: to describe
• वर्णितुम्: Kriya-artha (Infinitival complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वर्ण् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive); प्रयोजन (purpose/complement)

• न: not
• न: Kriya-nishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Avadharana (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis/only)

• शक्यते: is possible
• शक्यते: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शक् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A calendar-like cycle of months encircling a glowing mantra syllable-wheel; a devotee chanting daily, while a symbolic ‘twelve-day vrata’ fruit (a radiant merit-vessel) appears repeatedly day after day.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady daily mantra-practice multiplies merit, and the mantra’s power is presented as beyond complete verbal description.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

In this verse the emphasis is on mantra-māhātmya within the Tīrthamāhātmya context; a specific named tīrtha is not explicitly stated in the line provided.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Daily engagement (implied japa/recitation) grants the fruit comparable to a dvādaśāha (twelve-day) religious observance.