Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

तत्र नृत्यं प्रकर्तव्यं तुष्यते परमेश्वरः । गीतवादित्रनिर्घोषै रात्रौ जागरणेन च

Transliteration

tatra nṛtyaṃ prakartavyaṃ tuṣyate parameśvaraḥ | gītavāditranirghoṣai rātrau jāgaraṇena ca

Translation

Là, l’on doit accomplir la danse sacrée ; le Seigneur Suprême (Śiva) s’en réjouit—par la résonance des chants et des instruments, et aussi par la veille nocturne.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक/adverb of place)

• नृत्यम्: dance
• नृत्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• प्रकर्तव्यम्: should be performed
• प्रकर्तव्यम्: Kriya (Obligation predicate/विधेयक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + कृ (धातु)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्यय (तव्यत्) कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय (ought to be done)

• तुष्यते: is pleased
• तुष्यते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तुष् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• परमेश्वरः: the Supreme Lord
• परमेश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• गीतवादित्रनिर्घोषैः: with sounds of singing and instruments
• गीतवादित्रनिर्घोषैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गीत + वादित्र + निर्घोष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (गीत-वादित्र-निर्घोष)

• रात्रौ: at night
• रात्रौ: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• जागरणेन: by keeping vigil
• जागरणेन: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जागरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/coordination conjunction)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from immediate continuation in Adhyāya 103)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāmika/Manmatheśvara vicinity tīrtha (chapter context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (rājan)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A night festival at the tīrtha: devotees dance in a sacred circle, singers and instrumentalists create a resonant soundscape, lamps illuminate a Śiva shrine as all keep vigil.

Characters & Entities

• Parameśvara
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is pleased by wholehearted bhakti expressed through devotional arts and disciplined night-vigil.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The context is the Manmatheśvara/Ēraṇḍī region within the Revā-khaṇḍa’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform devotional dance, accompany it with song and instruments, and observe night-long jāgaraṇa.