Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

दिवसेदिवसे तस्य द्वादशाहफलं लभेत् । द्वादशाक्षर माहात्म्यं वर्णितुं नैव शक्यते

Transliteration

divasedivase tasya dvādaśāhaphalaṃ labhet | dvādaśākṣara māhātmyaṃ varṇituṃ naiva śakyate

Translation

Jour après jour, on obtient le fruit d’une observance sacrée de douze jours. La grandeur du Mantra aux Douze Syllabes est vraiment impossible à décrire en entier.

Word by Word

• दिवसे: on a day
• दिवसे: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; अधिकरण (time)

• दिवसे: day by day
• दिवसे: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (repetition for distributive sense)

• तस्य: for him/of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• द्वादशाहफलम्: the fruit of twelve days
• द्वादशाहफलम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादश-अह-फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्म; समासः: द्वादशानाम् अह्नां फलम् (genitive-tatpuruṣa)

• लभेत्: would obtain/should obtain
• लभेत्: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• द्वादशाक्षर: of twelve syllables
• द्वादशाक्षर: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादश-अक्षर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of māhātmyam); समासः: द्वादशानाम् अक्षराणाम् (genitive-tatpuruṣa)

• माहात्म्यम्: greatness, glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karta (Subject/Predicate-noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृ/विषय (subject)

• वर्णितुम्: to describe
• वर्णितुम्: Kriya-artha (Infinitival complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वर्ण् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive); प्रयोजन (purpose/complement)

• न: not
• न: Kriya-nishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Avadharana (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis/only)

• शक्यते: is possible
• शक्यते: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शक् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A calendar-like cycle of months encircling a glowing mantra syllable-wheel; a devotee chanting daily, while a symbolic ‘twelve-day vrata’ fruit (a radiant merit-vessel) appears repeatedly day after day.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady daily mantra-practice multiplies merit, and the mantra’s power is presented as beyond complete verbal description.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

In this verse the emphasis is on mantra-māhātmya within the Tīrthamāhātmya context; a specific named tīrtha is not explicitly stated in the line provided.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Daily engagement (implied japa/recitation) grants the fruit comparable to a dvādaśāha (twelve-day) religious observance.