Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

महापाराकमेतद्धि द्वितीयं परिकीर्तितम् । श्रवणद्वादशीपूर्वं प्राप्ता चाश्विनद्वादशी

Transliteration

mahāpārākametaddhi dvitīyaṃ parikīrtitam | śravaṇadvādaśīpūrvaṃ prāptā cāśvinadvādaśī

Translation

Ceci, en vérité, est proclamé comme le second Mahāpārāka : il s’étend d’avant Śravaṇa Dvādaśī jusqu’à l’arrivée d’Āśvina Dvādaśī.

Word by Word

• महापाराकम्: the great fast/observance (Mahāpārāka)
• महापाराकम्: Karma/Predicate nominal (कर्म/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महापाराक (प्रातिपदिक; महा-पाराक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (महान् पाराकः)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Apposition (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• हि: indeed
• हि: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• द्वितीयम्: second
• द्वितीयम्: Predicate qualifier (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वितीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक विशेषण (ordinal adjective)

• परिकीर्तितम्: is proclaimed/has been described
• परिकीर्तितम्: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + कीर्त् (धातु) → परिकीर्तित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• श्रवणद्वादशी: Śravaṇa Dvādaśī
• श्रवणद्वादशी: Qualifier (विशेष्य-निर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रवणद्वादशी (प्रातिपदिक; श्रवण-द्वादशी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; (पूर्वपद-निर्देशार्थं)

• पूर्वम्: before
• पूर्वम्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• प्राप्ता: has occurred/has come
• प्राप्ता: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि/कर्तरि कृदन्त (PPP used adjectivally), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• आश्विनद्वादशी: Āśvina Dvādaśī
• आश्विनद्वादशी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्विनद्वादशी (प्रातिपदिक; आश्विन-द्वादशी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (आश्विने/आश्विन-मासे द्वादशी)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa māhātmya-style instruction)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sequence tableau: three lunar months indicated by moon phases; a devotee continues the vow through changing skies from monsoon to early autumn, with Dvādaśī days highlighted as bright markers leading to Āśvina Dvādaśī.

Characters & Entities

• Mahāpārāka
• Śravaṇa Dvādaśī
• Āśvina Dvādaśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text systematizes austerity into defined variants, showing that dharma includes precise observance-structure.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; the emphasis is on the calendrical boundaries of a vrata.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The ‘second’ Mahāpārāka is defined by its span from before Śravaṇa Dvādaśī to Āśvina Dvādaśī.