Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

वर्जयेच्छ्रावणे शाकं दधि भाद्रपदे च यः । क्षीरमाश्वयुजे मासि कार्तिके च सदामिषम्

Transliteration

varjayecchrāvaṇe śākaṃ dadhi bhādrapade ca yaḥ | kṣīramāśvayuje māsi kārtike ca sadāmiṣam

Translation

അതുകൊണ്ട് ശ്രാവണമാസത്തിൽ ശാകം (ഇലക്കറികൾ) ഒഴിവാക്കണം, ഭാദ്രപദത്തിൽ തൈര്‍ ഉപേക്ഷിക്കണം; ആശ്വയുജത്തിൽ പാൽ വിട്ടൊഴിയണം, കാർത്തികത്തിൽ പൂർണ്ണമായി മാംസം വर्जിക്കണം.

Word by Word

• varjayet: should avoid
• varjayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛj/varj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• śrāvaṇe: in Śrāvaṇa
• śrāvaṇe: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• śākam: vegetables/greens
• śākam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śāka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• dadhi: curd
• dadhi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dadhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• bhādrapade: in Bhādrapada
• bhādrapade: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhādrapada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

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

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• kṣīram: milk
• kṣīram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• āśvayuje: in Āśvayuja
• āśvayuje: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśvayuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• māsi: in the month
• māsi: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• kārtike: in Kārtika
• kārtike: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārtika (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

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

• sadā-āmiṣam: meat always (i.e., meat in general)
• sadā-āmiṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sadā (अव्यय) + āmiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (sadā + āmiṣam); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from Māhātmya-style narration in Nāgarakhaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vrata-observer in simple white cloth, calendar of sacred months behind, offering satvic food before a Viṣṇu shrine; rejected items (greens/curd/milk/meat) shown set aside as symbols of restraint.

Characters & Entities

• Śrāvaṇa
• Bhādrapada
• Āśvayuja
• Kārttika

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time is honored through conscious restraint: month-specific abstentions cultivate purity, devotion, and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it is a Cāturmāsya/Kārttika vrata injunction within the Māhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Avoid greens in Śrāvaṇa, curd in Bhādrapada, milk in Āśvayuja, and abstain from meat entirely in Kārttika.