Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 123

Devanagari script

दानं वान्यश्च यत्किंचिदक्षयं तद्भविष्यति । माघासितचतुर्दश्यां शिवयोगे च पुत्रक

Transliteration

dānaṃ vānyaśca yatkiṃcidakṣayaṃ tadbhaviṣyati | māghāsitacaturdaśyāṃ śivayoge ca putraka

Translation

Le don (dāna) —ou tout autre acte pieux— devient d’un mérite inépuisable. Surtout le quatorzième jour de la quinzaine sombre de Māgha, lorsque prévaut l’auspicieux Śiva-yoga, mon enfant.

Word by Word

• dānam: gift; charity
• dānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• anyaḥ: other
• anyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘other’ (elliptically: any other act)

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

• yat: whatever
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; relative

• kiṃcit: anything; something
• kiṃcit: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थ (indefinite)

• akṣayam: imperishable; inexhaustible
• akṣayam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘imperishable’

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; correlative

• bhaviṣyati: will be
• bhaviṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• māgha: (month of) Māgha
• māgha: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māgha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (in compound: ‘of Māgha month’)

• asita: dark (krishna-paksha)
• asita: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: asita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे (in compound with caturdaśyām), सप्तमी, एकवचन-आश्रित; ‘dark (fortnight)’

• caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth lunar day
• caturdaśyām: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तिथिवाचक

• śivayoge: in the Śiva-yoga (auspicious conjunction)
• śivayoge: Adhikaraṇa (Time/Condition/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + yoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (śivasya yogaḥ), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• putraka: O dear son
• putraka: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Liṅga-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘putraka’ (my child) addressed to the listener

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Māgha night scene near a Śiva shrine: devotees distribute alms—food, cloth, lamps—under a starry sky; a priest notes ‘Śiva-yoga’ on a palm-leaf calendar; the mood is disciplined and auspicious.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Māgha
• Śiva-yoga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right timing amplifies dharma: charity and pious acts performed on sacred tithis yield imperishable merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse highlights a sacred time (Māgha kṛṣṇa caturdaśī with Śiva-yoga) rather than naming a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform dāna and other meritorious observances on Māgha dark-fortnight Caturdaśī during Śiva-yoga for akṣaya-phala.