Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

मुमुक्षवोऽपि तां ध्यात्वा प्रयांति परमं पदम् । चातुर्मास्ये विशेषेण ध्यात्वा मर्त्यो ह्यमानुषः

Transliteration

mumukṣavo'pi tāṃ dhyātvā prayāṃti paramaṃ padam | cāturmāsye viśeṣeṇa dhyātvā martyo hyamānuṣaḥ

Translation

മുമുക്ഷുക്കളും അവളെ ധ്യാനിച്ച് പരമപദം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു. പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് ചാതുർമാസ്യകാലത്ത് ഇങ്ങനെ ധ്യാനിച്ചാൽ മർത്ത്യനും മാനുഷപരിധി കടക്കും.

Word by Word

• mumukṣavaḥ: seekers of liberation
• mumukṣavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mumukṣu (प्रातिपदिक; √muc (धातु) इच्छार्थक-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; इच्छार्थक-नाम (one who desires liberation)

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अपि-कार (concessive/also)

• tām: her/that (f.)
• tām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dhyātvā: having meditated
• dhyātvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dhyai (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वक्रिया (having meditated)

• prayānti: they go/attain
• prayānti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra+√yā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• padam: state/abode/goal
• padam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• cāturmāsye: in the Cāturmāsya season
• cāturmāsye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāturmāsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण (in the four-month period)

• viśeṣeṇa: especially
• viśeṣeṇa: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करणभावे (especially/by distinction)

• dhyātvā: having meditated
• dhyātvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dhyai (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वक्रिया

• martyaḥ: a mortal
• martyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphasis/indeed)

• amānuṣaḥ: non-human; superhuman
• amānuṣaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नञ्-समासार्थक-निषेध (non-human/superhuman) विशेषण (martyaḥ)

Speaker

Deductive (Tīrthamāhātmya narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa; exact speaker not in snippet)

Characters & Entities

• Mumukṣu
• Cāturmāsya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dhyāna on the deity, especially during Cāturmāsya, accelerates purification and leads toward the supreme liberating state.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is framed within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 247), but the exact tīrtha-name is not stated in this snippet.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Meditation (dhyāna) with special emphasis during Cāturmāsya is prescribed.