Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

अयनस्योत्तरस्यादौ मकरं याति भास्करः । ततः कुम्भं च मीनं च राशे राश्यंतरं तथा

Transliteration

ayanasyottarasyādau makaraṃ yāti bhāskaraḥ | tataḥ kumbhaṃ ca mīnaṃ ca rāśe rāśyaṃtaraṃ tathā

Translation

Au début de la course vers le nord (uttarāyaṇa), Bhāskara entre en Makara (Capricorne). Puis il passe à Kumbha (Verseau) et à Mīna (Poissons), allant de signe en signe selon l’ordre prescrit.

Word by Word

• ayanasya: of the solstice course (ayana)
• ayanasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• uttarasya: of the northern (uttara)
• uttarasya: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; विशेषण (ayanasya)

• ādau: at the beginning
• ādau: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; ‘आदि’ = beginning

• makaram: Capricorn (Makara sign)
• makaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: makara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• yāti: goes/enters
• yāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (या धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• bhāskaraḥ: the Sun
• bhāskaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāskara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रम/तस्मात्-अर्थे (then/thereafter)

• kumbham: Aquarius (Kumbha sign)
• kumbham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• mīnam: Pisces (Mīna sign)
• mīnam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• rāśe: in the zodiac sign
• rāśe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāśi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• rāśi-antaram: the next sign/interval of signs
• rāśi-antaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāśi + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘राशेः अन्तरम्’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थ (likewise/also)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa Sūta (deduced; Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration to sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Makara-saṅkrānti kāla (time-tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūrya’s chariot entering the Makara sector of a zodiac wheel, then moving sequentially to Kumbha and Mīna; the rāśi symbols appear as celestial emblems around a mandala.

Characters & Entities

• Bhāskara
• Uttarāyaṇa
• Makara
• Kumbha
• Mīna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Time is sacred and orderly; the Sun’s regulated passage through signs mirrors dharma’s structure in the cosmos.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned; the verse focuses on calendrical cosmology (ayana and rāśi).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; such passages commonly underpin observances tied to uttarāyaṇa and solar transitions.