Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

अथ चैत्रस्य शुक्लस्य नक्षत्रे भगदैवते । त्रयोदश्यां दिने भानोः समायातो महेश्वरः

Transliteration

atha caitrasya śuklasya nakṣatre bhagadaivate | trayodaśyāṃ dine bhānoḥ samāyāto maheśvaraḥ

Translation

Puis, durant la quinzaine claire de Caitra, lorsque dominait la demeure lunaire présidée par Bhaga, au treizième jour, un dimanche, Maheśvara arriva.

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (आरम्भ/अनन्तरबोधकः) = 'then/now'

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपातः)

• caitrasya: of (the month) Caitra
• caitrasya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (मास-नाम)

• śuklasya: of the bright (fortnight)
• śuklasya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śukla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (pakṣa)

• nakṣatre: in the lunar mansion
• nakṣatre: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nakṣatra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• bhaga-daivate: having Bhaga as the presiding deity
• bhaga-daivate: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhaga (प्रातिपदिक) + daivata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (whose deity is Bhaga)

• trayodaśyām: on the thirteenth lunar day
• trayodaśyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trayodaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (तिथि-नाम)

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

• bhānoḥ: of the Sun
• bhānoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhānu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• samāyātaḥ: arrived
• samāyātaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√yā (या धातु)
• Form: कृदन्तः—क्त (भूतकर्मणि/भूतकालिक-विशेषण), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; गत्यर्थकः

• maheśvaraḥ: Maheshvara (Śiva)
• maheśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maheśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa; exact speaker not identifiable from snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous spring day: priests point to the sky and pañcāṅga; Maheśvara approaches in grandeur as the calendar markers—Caitra śukla, Trayodaśī, Sunday, Bhaga nakṣatra—are ceremonially announced.

Characters & Entities

• Caitra
• Bhaga
• Bhānu (Sun)
• Maheśvara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas treat sacred acts and divine events as aligned with auspicious cosmic time—tithi, weekday, and nakṣatra—highlighting dharma through right timing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sets the calendrical moment of Śiva’s arrival within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative; the precise tīrtha name is not stated in this single shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; the verse records the auspicious calendrical setting (Caitra, Śukla, Trayodaśī, Sunday, Bhaga-nakṣatra).