Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

नन्दने वत्सरे माघे पञ्चम्यां भरतर्षभ । शस्ते तु ह्युत्तरायोगे कुम्भस्थे शशिमण्डले

Transliteration

nandane vatsare māghe pañcamyāṃ bharatarṣabha | śaste tu hyuttarāyoge kumbhasthe śaśimaṇḍale

Translation

നന്ദന സംവത്സരത്തിൽ, മാഘമാസത്തിലെ പഞ്ചമിതിഥിയിൽ, ഹേ ഭാരതശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! ശുഭ ഉത്തരായണയോഗത്തിൽ, ചന്ദ്രമണ്ഡലം കുംഭരാശിയിൽ നിലകൊണ്ടിരിക്കെ…

Word by Word

• नन्दने: in the Nandana (named)
• नन्दने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (7th/Locative), एकवचनम्; विशेषणरूपेण (as qualifier)

• वत्सरे: in the year
• वत्सरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्सर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• माघे: in (the month of) Māgha
• माघे: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• पञ्चम्याम्: on the fifth (lunar day)
• पञ्चम्याम्: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चमी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (tithi-name)

• भरतर्षभ: O bull among the Bharatas
• भरतर्षभ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत-ऋषभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) ‘भरतानाम् ऋषभः’

• शस्ते: at an auspicious (time)
• शस्ते: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (particle)

• हि: for/indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (emphatic/causal particle)

• उत्तरायोगे: in the northern conjunction/auspicious alignment
• उत्तरायोगे: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तर-योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (कर्मधारय/निर्धारणभावः) ‘उत्तरः योगः’

• कुम्भस्थे: when (the moon) is in Aquarius
• कुम्भस्थे: Adhikarana (Time/astral location)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुम्भ-स्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः) ‘कुम्भे स्थितः’

• शशिमण्डले: in the lunar orb
• शशिमण्डले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शशि-मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) ‘शशिनः मण्डलम्’

Speaker

Narrator (within the adhyāya’s tīrtha-foundation account)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhṛgukaccha (contextual emergence)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bharatārṣabha (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage or narrator marks an auspicious moment: Māgha month, Pañcamī tithi, uttarāyaṇa; the Moon depicted in Aquarius above a riverine sacred landscape, signaling the commencement of a tīrtha’s rise to prominence.

Characters & Entities

• Māgha
• Nandana (year)
• Uttarāyaṇa
• Kumbha-rāśi (Aquarius)
• Śaśin (Moon)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma emphasizes right timing (kāla) for sacred acts; cosmic order supports religious foundations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse supplies the calendrical setting for the establishment of the Revā-side kṣetra later identified with Bhṛgukaccha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit: undertaking consecratory acts on Māgha pañcamī in an auspicious muhūrta (uttarāyaṇa; Moon in Kumbha).