Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

वर्षेवर्षे तु यः कुर्यात्संप्राप्तेऽस्मिन्दिने शुभे । मृगचर्म समादाय वंशाग्रे यो महीपतिः

Transliteration

varṣevarṣe tu yaḥ kuryātsaṃprāpte'smindine śubhe | mṛgacarma samādāya vaṃśāgre yo mahīpatiḥ

Translation

Mais quiconque, d’année en année, lorsque vient ce jour propice, accomplit cette observance—prenant une peau de cerf et (se tenant/agissant) à l’extrémité d’un bâton de bambou—ô seigneur de la terre…

Word by Word

• वर्षे-वर्षे: year after year / every year
• वर्षे-वर्षे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; द्वन्द्वसमासः (वर्षे + वर्षे) — अव्ययीभाववत् पुनरुक्त्यर्थे ‘प्रत्येकवर्षे/प्रतिवर्षम्’ इत्यर्थे

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle) — विरोध/विशेषार्थे

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधकः (relative pronoun)

• कुर्यात्: should do / would perform
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• संप्राप्ते: when (it has) arrived
• संप्राप्ते: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-प्र-आप् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘संप्राप्ते’ = प्राप्ते (arrived/occurred)

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• दिने: on the day
• दिने: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• शुभे: auspicious
• शुभे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘दिने’ इति विशेषणम्

• मृगचर्म: deerskin
• मृगचर्म: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृग (प्रातिपदिक) + चर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मृगस्य चर्म)

• समादाय: having taken
• समादाय: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्-आ-दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) — ‘समादाय’ = सम्यक् आदाय (having taken)

• वंशाग्रे: at the head of the lineage
• वंशाग्रे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वंश (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वंशस्य अग्रे)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधकः

• महीपतिः: king / lord of the earth
• महीपतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (महीयाः पति:)

Speaker

Indra (continuing speech; verse is syntactically incomplete in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-king (māhīpati) on an auspicious annual day holds a deer-hide and stands poised with a bamboo staff at a riverbank/ghāṭa, preparing for a prescribed act before entering the water.

Characters & Entities

• Mahīpati (king) (generic)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular, yearly observance on an auspicious day sustains merit; dharma is strengthened through repeated tīrtha-centered practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Adhyāya 190 tīrtha of Nāgara Khaṇḍa; the verse points to an annual rite performed in connection with its sacred waters.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A yearly observance on the specified auspicious day involving a deer-hide and a bamboo staff arrangement (as described in the narrative).