Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

एवं चतुर्षुमासेषु यदा नृत्यमजायत । अतिक्रांता शरज्जाता निर्मलाकाशशोभिता

Transliteration

evaṃ caturṣumāseṣu yadā nṛtyamajāyata | atikrāṃtā śarajjātā nirmalākāśaśobhitā

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ നാലുമാസം നൃത്തം തുടർന്നപ്പോൾ മഴക്കാലം കടന്നു; നിർമലവും ദീപ്തവുമായ ആകാശശോഭയോടെ ശരദൃതു എത്തി।

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of manner)

• चतुःषु: in four
• चतुःषु: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक

• मासेषु: months
• मासेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• यदा: when
• यदा: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal conjunction/adverb: when)

• नृत्यम्: dance
• नृत्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अजायत: arose, came to be
• अजायत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• अतिक्रान्ता: having passed beyond
• अतिक्रान्ता: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति + क्रम् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त, past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अतिक्रान्ता’ (having passed)

• शरद्: autumn
• शरद्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जाता: born, arisen
• जाता: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘उत्पन्ना’

• निर्मलाकाशशोभिता: adorned by a clear sky
• निर्मलाकाशशोभिता: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मल (प्रातिपदिक) + आकाश (प्रातिपदिक) + शोभित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः ‘निर्मलेन आकाशेन शोभिता’ (adorned by a clear sky)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the Ṛṣis (deduced; speaker not explicit in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A long divine dance-utsava continuing through the four months of the rains; clouds part, revealing a spotless autumn sky over a sacred landscape.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time (kāla) is woven into sacred place—divine acts sanctify seasons, and the purified autumn sky mirrors inner clarity gained through devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of Nāgara Khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya (Adhyāya 254); the exact tīrtha is not named in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies a four-month span (cāturmāsya) context but does not prescribe a specific vow here.