Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 128

Devanagari script

कार्तिकी फाल्गुनी चैत्री ज्येष्ठे पञ्चदशी सिता । मन्वंतरादयश्चैता दत्तस्याक्षयकारकाः

Transliteration

kārtikī phālgunī caitrī jyeṣṭhe pañcadaśī sitā | manvaṃtarādayaścaitā dattasyākṣayakārakāḥ

Translation

കാർത്തിക, ഫാൽഗുണ, ചൈത്ര പൗർണ്ണമികൾ, കൂടാതെ ജ്യേഷ്ഠ ശുക്ലപക്ഷത്തിലെ പഞ്ചദശി; മന്വന്തരാദി ദിനങ്ങൾ—ഇവ ദാനഫലം അക്ഷയമാക്കുന്നതായി പ്രസ്താവിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• kārtikī: (the) Kārtikī (tithi/day)
• kārtikī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārtikī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; मास-नाम (Kārtikī tithi/month-related)

• phālgunī: Phālgunī
• phālgunī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phālgunī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; मास-नाम

• caitrī: Caitrī
• caitrī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caitrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; मास-नाम

• jyeṣṭhe: in (the month of) Jyeṣṭha
• jyeṣṭhe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyeṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘(in) Jyeṣṭha (month)’

• pañcadaśī: the fifteenth (tithi)
• pañcadaśī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañcadaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तिथि-नाम (15th lunar day)

• sitā: bright (śukla)
• sitā: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘शुक्लपक्षसम्बद्धा’

• manvantara-ādayaḥ: manvantaras and the like
• manvantara-ādayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manvantara (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘मन्वन्तरादयः’ = manvantaras and others

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

• etāḥ: these
• etāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• dattasya: of (a) gift / of giving
• dattasya: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: datta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √dā (धाातु) + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; ‘दत्तस्य’ = of the gift/of what is given

• akṣaya-kārakāḥ: causing (it to be) imperishable
• akṣaya-kārakāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣaya (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘अक्षयं करोति’

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim household and ascetics at a riverside tīrtha on a radiant full-moon night, distributing food and cloth; priests recite parva-kāla praises; the moon reflected on water signifies ‘akṣaya’ continuity.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity offered on specially sanctified occasions yields ‘akṣaya’—enduring, undiminishing spiritual fruit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No location is named; the emphasis is on sacred calendrical moments like Kārttika Pūrṇimā and Manvantara-days.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Giving (dāna) on these listed full-moons and Manvantara occasions is said to produce inexhaustible merit.