Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

तत्र यः कार्तिके मासि दीपकं संप्रयच्छति । सर्वपापविनिर्मुक्तः शिवलोके महीयते

Transliteration

tatra yaḥ kārtike māsi dīpakaṃ saṃprayacchati | sarvapāpavinirmuktaḥ śivaloke mahīyate

Translation

Quiconque, en ce lieu, durant le mois de Kārtika, offre une lampe, est délivré de tous les péchés et honoré dans le monde de Śiva.

Word by Word

• tatra: there; in that (holy place/context)
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देश/प्रसङ्ग-क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘there/in that context’

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — relative pronoun ‘who’

• kārtike: in (the month of) Kārtika
• kārtike: Adhikarana (Time locus/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārtika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — locative ‘in Kārtika’

• māsi: in the month
• māsi: Adhikarana (Time locus/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — locative ‘in the month’ (apposition to kārtike)

• dīpakam: a lamp
• dīpakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dīpaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुं, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — object ‘lamp’

• saṃprayacchati: offers; gives
• saṃprayacchati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam+pra+√yam/√yacch (धातु: यम्)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘gives/offers’

• sarva-pāpa-vinirmuktaḥ: freed from all sins
• sarva-pāpa-vinirmuktaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + vi+nir+√muc (धातु) → vinirmukta (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — तत्पुरुष-समास; विशेषण of implied ‘saḥ/yaḥ’; ‘freed from all sins’

• śiva-loke: in Śiva’s realm
• śiva-loke: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — locative; ‘in Śiva’s world’

• mahīyate: is honored; is glorified
• mahīyate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √mah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद — passive/reflexive sense ‘is honored/glorified’

Speaker

Sūta (narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kalaśeśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijas / general devotees (yo yaḥ = whoever)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night in Kārtika: rows of lamps shimmer before the Kalaśeśvara liṅga; a devotee places a lamp with both hands, the sanctum glowing as if Śiva’s presence accepts the offering.

Characters & Entities

• Kārtika (month)
• Śiva
• Kalaśeśvara tīrtha (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A simple act of devotion—offering a lamp in Kārtika—at a holy site yields profound purification and Śaiva liberation-fruit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘there’ indicates the Kalaśeśvara sacred place described throughout Adhyāya 51.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dīpa-dāna (offering a lamp) during the month of Kārtika at the tīrtha.