Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

विशेषाद्भाद्रपदे तु कृष्णपक्षे त्रयोदशीम् । प्रधानं सर्वतीर्थानां देवैरध्यासितं पुरा

Transliteration

viśeṣādbhādrapade tu kṛṣṇapakṣe trayodaśīm | pradhānaṃ sarvatīrthānāṃ devairadhyāsitaṃ purā

Translation

Et tout particulièrement au mois de Bhādrapada, le treizième jour de la quinzaine sombre (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa trayodaśī), ce Deva-tīrtha est le premier de tous les lieux saints, jadis fréquenté et sanctifié par les dieux.

Word by Word

• विशेषात्: especially
• विशेषात्: Hetu (Cause/Reason/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे—'विशेषेण' (especially)

• भाद्रपदे: in (the month of) Bhādrapada
• भाद्रपदे: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाद्रपद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधान/विरोधार्थक (but/indeed)

• कृष्णपक्षे: in the dark fortnight
• कृष्णपक्षे: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + पक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• त्रयोदशीम्: the thirteenth lunar day
• त्रयोदशीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रयोदशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तिथिवाचक

• प्रधानम्: chief, foremost
• प्रधानम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (देवतीर्थम्/तिथिः वा)

• सर्वतीर्थानाम्: of all tīrthas
• सर्वतीर्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• देवैः: by the gods
• देवैः: Kartr (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• अध्यासितम्: occupied, resorted to
• अध्यासितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अध्यासित (कृदन्त; √आस् (धातु) उपसर्ग-अधि)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त (क्त), कर्मणि (passive sense)

• पुरा: formerly, in ancient times
• पुरा: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (formerly)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Deva-tīrtha

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night-to-dawn Bhādrapada kṛṣṇa trayodaśī at a riverbank tīrtha: pilgrims with lamps, priests marking tithi, Indra and devas subtly depicted as having once ‘resided’ there; a sense of cosmic timing and sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Bhādrapada
• kṛṣṇa-pakṣa trayodaśī
• Deva-tīrtha
• devas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Time (kāla) and place (deśa/tīrtha) together intensify dharma; certain lunar dates unlock heightened tīrtha potency.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Deva-tīrtha, declared pradhāna (foremost) among tīrthas on the specified sacred date.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A timing prescription: observe/visit especially on Bhādrapada kṛṣṇa-pakṣa trayodaśī.