Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 123

Devanagari script

दानं वान्यश्च यत्किंचिदक्षयं तद्भविष्यति । माघासितचतुर्दश्यां शिवयोगे च पुत्रक

Transliteration

dānaṃ vānyaśca yatkiṃcidakṣayaṃ tadbhaviṣyati | māghāsitacaturdaśyāṃ śivayoge ca putraka

Translation

布施（ダーナ）であれ、いかなる善行であれ、その功徳は尽きることなくなる。とりわけマーガ月の黒分（暗半月）の十四日、吉祥なるシヴァ・ヨーガが現れる時には、わが子よ。

Word by Word

• dānam: gift; charity
• dānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• anyaḥ: other
• anyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘other’ (elliptically: any other act)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• yat: whatever
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; relative

• kiṃcit: anything; something
• kiṃcit: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थ (indefinite)

• akṣayam: imperishable; inexhaustible
• akṣayam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘imperishable’

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; correlative

• bhaviṣyati: will be
• bhaviṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• māgha: (month of) Māgha
• māgha: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māgha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (in compound: ‘of Māgha month’)

• asita: dark (krishna-paksha)
• asita: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: asita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे (in compound with caturdaśyām), सप्तमी, एकवचन-आश्रित; ‘dark (fortnight)’

• caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth lunar day
• caturdaśyām: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तिथिवाचक

• śivayoge: in the Śiva-yoga (auspicious conjunction)
• śivayoge: Adhikaraṇa (Time/Condition/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + yoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (śivasya yogaḥ), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• putraka: O dear son
• putraka: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Liṅga-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘putraka’ (my child) addressed to the listener

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Māgha night scene near a Śiva shrine: devotees distribute alms—food, cloth, lamps—under a starry sky; a priest notes ‘Śiva-yoga’ on a palm-leaf calendar; the mood is disciplined and auspicious.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Māgha
• Śiva-yoga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right timing amplifies dharma: charity and pious acts performed on sacred tithis yield imperishable merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse highlights a sacred time (Māgha kṛṣṇa caturdaśī with Śiva-yoga) rather than naming a particular tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform dāna and other meritorious observances on Māgha dark-fortnight Caturdaśī during Śiva-yoga for akṣaya-phala.