Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

नवम्यां तु तिथौ मर्त्यः श्राद्धं कुर्यान्महालयम् । दुर्गादेवी भगवती तस्य प्रीणाति शांभवी

Transliteration

navamyāṃ tu tithau martyaḥ śrāddhaṃ kuryānmahālayam | durgādevī bhagavatī tasya prīṇāti śāṃbhavī

Translation

Au neuvième jour lunaire (Navamī), le mortel doit accomplir le śrāddha de Mahālaya ; alors la Déesse bienheureuse Durgā—Śāmbhavī elle-même—se réjouit de lui.

Word by Word

• navamyām: on the ninth lunar day
• navamyām: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: navamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; contrast/emphasis ‘but/indeed’

• tithau: on the lunar date
• tithau: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tithi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• martyaḥ: a mortal man
• martyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; subject

• śrāddham: śrāddha rite
• śrāddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• kuryāt: should perform
• kuryāt: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• mahālayam: Mahālaya (rite)
• mahālayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; in apposition to śrāddham

• durgādevī: Goddess Durgā
• durgādevī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durgā (प्रातिपदिक) + devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; subject

• bhagavatī: the Blessed/Lordly (Goddess)
• bhagavatī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhagavatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; epithet of durgādevī

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• prīṇāti: is pleased (with him)
• prīṇāti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prī (प्री धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; is pleased/satisfies

• śāṃbhavī: Śāmbhavī (consort/power of Śambhu)
• śāṃbhavī: Karta (Subject-Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāṃbhavī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; appositional name of the goddess

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahālaya (Navamī) observance

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee performs śrāddha on navamī; above, Durgā as Śāmbhavī appears—serene yet powerful—accepting devotion while pitṛs stand satisfied nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Durgā
• Śāmbhavī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Properly timed śrāddha is not only pitṛ-pleasing; it also invokes the favor of the Divine Mother.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu-kṣetra (Setukhaṇḍa), where Mahālaya śrāddha is linked with Devi’s and Deva’s blessings.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform Mahālaya śrāddha on navamī (the ninth tithi).