Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 153

Devanagari script

माघमासे सिते पक्षे त्रयो दश्यां दिने स्थिते । तद्ग्रामसंस्थिता लोका येऽत्रागत्य समाहिताः

Transliteration

māghamāse site pakṣe trayo daśyāṃ dine sthite | tadgrāmasaṃsthitā lokā ye'trāgatya samāhitāḥ

Translation

Au mois de Māgha, durant la quinzaine claire, lorsque survient le treizième jour lunaire, les gens établis dans ces villages, venant ici l’esprit recueilli—

Word by Word

• māghamāse: in the month of Māgha
• māghamāse: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māgha (प्रातिपदिक) + māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (माघस्य मासः), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• site: bright (white)
• site: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; pakṣe इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• pakṣe: in the fortnight
• pakṣe: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• trayaḥ: three
• trayaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-विशेषण, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (used distributively with days)

• daśyām: on the tenth (tithi)
• daśyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (तिथि: दशमी)

• dine: on the day
• dine: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• sthite: having come/occurred
• sthite: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (धातु) + kta (क्त) → sthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; dine इत्यस्य विशेषणम् (when the day has arrived)

• tadgrāmasaṃsthitāḥ: residing in that village
• tadgrāmasaṃsthitāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम) + grāma (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsthita (sam-sthā धातु + kta)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तस्मिन् ग्रामे संस्थिताः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; lokāḥ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• lokāḥ: people
• lokāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• atra: here
• atra: Deśa (Place marker/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• āgatya: having come
• āgatya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund)

• samāhitāḥ: collected/attentive
• samāhitāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-dhā (धातु) + kta (क्त) → samāhita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; lokāḥ/ye इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: narrator introducing a calendrical observance at the tīrtha)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bālamaṇḍanaka

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On Māgha śukla trayodaśī, villagers walk in procession toward the sacred tank and liṅga, carrying flowers, lamps, and water pots, faces calm and intent.

Characters & Entities

• Māgha (month)
• Śukla pakṣa (bright fortnight)
• Trayodaśī (tithi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time (kāla) enhances sacred place (deśa); visiting a tīrtha on an auspicious tithi with concentration is especially meritorious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bālamaṇḍanaka tīrtha, with a specific calendrical occasion highlighted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Come to the tīrtha in Māgha, bright fortnight, on Trayodaśī, with a composed and attentive mind (preparatory requirement for worship described next).