Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

मधुमासे सिते पक्ष एकादश्यामुपोषितः । निशि जागरणं कुर्याद्विष्णुपादसमीपतः

Transliteration

madhumāse site pakṣa ekādaśyāmupoṣitaḥ | niśi jāgaraṇaṃ kuryādviṣṇupādasamīpataḥ

Translation

Au mois de Madhu (Caitra), à l’Ekādaśī de la quinzaine claire, après avoir jeûné, l’on doit veiller durant la nuit près de la sainte « Empreinte du Pied de Viṣṇu ».

Word by Word

• madhu-māse: in the Madhu month
• madhu-māse: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhu (प्रातिपदिक) + māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — ‘in Madhu-month (Caitra)’

• site: in the bright (fortnight)
• site: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — विशेषण; ‘in the bright (fortnight)’ (pakṣe understood)

• pakṣe: in the fortnight
• pakṣe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — ‘in the fortnight’

• ekādaśyām: on Ekādaśī
• ekādaśyām: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ekādaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — ‘on Ekādaśī’

• upoṣitaḥ: having fasted
• upoṣitaḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa-vas (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘having fasted/one who has fasted’

• niśi: at night
• niśi: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — ‘at night’

• jāgaraṇam: a vigil (staying awake)
• jāgaraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāgaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘wakefulness/vigil’

• kuryāt: should do
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘should do/should perform’

• viṣṇu-pāda-samīpataḥ: near the feet of Viṣṇu
• viṣṇu-pāda-samīpataḥ: Adhikarana (Circumstantial/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + pāda (प्रातिपदिक) + samīpatas (अव्यय/तसिल्)
• Form: तसिलन्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — ‘from/at the vicinity of Viṣṇu’s feet’; समासः: viṣṇu-pāda (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + samīpataḥ

Speaker

Deductive (Revākhaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇupāda (Footprint of Viṣṇu)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A moonlit ekādaśī night: devotees keep vigil beside a stone footprint of Viṣṇu, lamps burning, conch and cymbals softly accompanying kīrtana; fasting ascetics sit in meditation near the shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Viṣṇupāda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion intensifies through disciplined fasting and wakeful remembrance, especially when performed at a sanctified tirtha-marker of Viṣṇu.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A ‘Viṣṇupāda’ (sacred footprint of Viṣṇu) is indicated as the locus for the observance, though the verse does not specify its geographic name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Fast on Caitra (Madhu) bright Ekādaśī and observe a night vigil (jāgaraṇa) near Viṣṇupāda.