Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

मार्गशीर्षस्य सप्तम्यां षष्ठ्यां वा रविवासरे । विधाय वार्षिकीं यात्रां नरः पापै प्रमुच्यते

Transliteration

mārgaśīrṣasya saptamyāṃ ṣaṣṭhyāṃ vā ravivāsare | vidhāya vārṣikīṃ yātrāṃ naraḥ pāpai pramucyate

Translation

മാർഗശീർഷ മാസത്തിലെ സപ്തമി—അഥവാ ഷഷ്ഠി—തിഥി ഞായറാഴ്ചയായാൽ, വാർഷിക യാത്ര നിർവഹിക്കുന്നവൻ പാപങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് വിമുക്തനാകും.

Word by Word

• मार्गशीर्षस्य: of Mārgaśīrṣa (month)
• मार्गशीर्षस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्गशीर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन (Genitive singular; month-name)

• सप्तम्याम्: on the seventh (day/tithi)
• सप्तम्याम्: Adhikarana (Temporal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्तमी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (Locative singular; ‘on the seventh [tithi]’)

• षष्ठ्याम्: on the sixth (day/tithi)
• षष्ठ्याम्: Adhikarana (Temporal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्ठी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (Locative singular; ‘on the sixth [tithi]’)

• वा: or
• वा: Vikalpa (Alternative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्ययम् (disjunctive particle: or)

• रविवासरे: on Sunday
• रविवासरे: Adhikarana (Temporal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रवि (प्रातिपदिक) + वासर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (रवेः वासरः = Sunday)

• विधाय: having performed
• विधाय: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धा (धातु) उपसर्गः वि-
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय-कृदन्त (gerund/absolutive); ‘having performed/arranged’

• वार्षिकीम्: annual
• वार्षिकीम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वार्षिकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying यात्राम्)

• यात्राम्: pilgrimage/journey
• यात्राम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• नरः: a man/person
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन (Nominative singular)

• पापैः: from sins
• पापैः: Apadana (Separation-from/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन (Instrumental plural)

• प्रमुच्यते: is freed
• प्रमुच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु) उपसर्गः प्र-
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (Passive: is released)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśī-khaṇḍa context, Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Lolārka-yātrā (annual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims in Mārgaśīrṣa gather at dawn on a Sunday; they proceed in an annual procession to Lolārka, carrying lamps and water vessels, preparing for darśana and purification.

Characters & Entities

• Mārgaśīrṣa
• Ravivāra (Sunday)
• Yātrā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right timing joined with sincere pilgrimage in Kāśī becomes a potent means of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Lolārka-related annual yātrā within Kāśī’s sacred circuit (implied by the surrounding verses).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform the annual yātrā in Mārgaśīrṣa on the 6th or 7th tithi, specifically when it falls on a Sunday.