Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

सहस्रनामजं पुण्यं रामनाम्नैव जायते । चातुर्मास्ये विशेषेण तत्पुण्यं दशधोत्तरम्

Transliteration

sahasranāmajaṃ puṇyaṃ rāmanāmnaiva jāyate | cāturmāsye viśeṣeṇa tatpuṇyaṃ daśadhottaram

Translation

സഹസ്രനാമജപത്തിൽ നിന്നു ജനിക്കുന്ന പുണ്യം ‘രാമ’ നാമം മാത്രം കൊണ്ടുതന്നെ ലഭിക്കുന്നു; ചാതുർമാസ്യത്തിൽ പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് ആ പുണ്യം പത്തിരട്ടിയായി വർധിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• सहस्र-नाम-जम्: born of (reciting) the thousand names
• सहस्र-नाम-जम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + नाम (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सहस्रनामात् जातम्)

• पुण्यम्: merit
• पुण्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• राम-नाम्ना: by (the utterance of) Rāma’s name
• राम-नाम्ना: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम (प्रातिपदिक) + नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (रामस्य नाम)

• एव: only, indeed
• एव: Emphasis/Restriction (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (restrictive particle)

• जायते: arises, is produced
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya period
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• विशेषेण: especially
• विशेषेण: Prakāra (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचन-रूपेण अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial instrumental: ‘especially’)

• तत्-पुण्यम्: that merit
• तत्-पुण्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (तत् एव पुण्यम्)

• दशधा-उत्तरम्: tenfold greater
• दशधा-उत्तरम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशधा (अव्यय) + उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावः (दशधा अधिकम्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nārada

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee seated near a shrine in the Hāṭakeśvara region during monsoon Cāturmāsya, counting japa beads; a luminous ‘Rāma’ syllable radiates, visually outweighing a scroll of ‘sahasranāma’.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma-nāma
• Cāturmāsya
• Sahasranāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A single-point practice—Rāma-nāma—can equal vast liturgical recitations, and sacred seasons like Cāturmāsya multiply its merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific location is mentioned; the verse glorifies the time-period (Cāturmāsya) and the practice (Rāma-nāma).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Japa of Rāma-nāma, with special emphasis on performing it during Cāturmāsya for increased merit.