Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

दयिता विष्णुभक्ताश्च नित्यं मम षडानन । कुर्वंति वासरं विष्णोर्यस्माज्जागरणं हितम्

Transliteration

dayitā viṣṇubhaktāśca nityaṃ mama ṣaḍānana | kurvaṃti vāsaraṃ viṣṇoryasmājjāgaraṇaṃ hitam

Translation

ഹേ ഷഡാനന! വിഷ്ണുഭക്തരായ എനിക്ക് പ്രിയപ്പെട്ടവർ നിത്യവും വിഷ്ണുവിന്റെ പുണ്യദിനം അനുഷ്ഠിക്കുന്നു; കാരണം ജാഗരണം ഹിതകരമാണ്.

Word by Word

• dayitāḥ: beloved ones
• dayitāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dayitā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• viṣṇu-bhaktāḥ: devotees of Viṣṇu
• viṣṇu-bhaktāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative): ‘viṣṇoḥ bhaktāḥ’

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

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

• mama: of me / my
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• ṣaḍ-ānana: O Six-faced (Skanda)
• ṣaḍ-ānana: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय: ‘ṣaḍ ānanāni yasya’ (six-faced)

• kurvanti: they do / perform
• kurvanti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural)

• vāsaram: the day
• vāsaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• viṣṇoḥ: of Viṣṇu
• viṣṇoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• yasmāt: from which / because of which
• yasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source/हेतु-अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन (Singular)

• jāgaraṇam: the vigil (night-wake)
• jāgaraṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāgaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• hitam: beneficial
• hitam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (predicate adjective)

Speaker

Skanda (Kārttikeya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvārakā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Skanda (Ṣaḍānana)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher addresses Ṣaḍānana (Skanda) while pointing to devotees observing ‘Viṣṇu’s day’: daytime restraint and worship, followed by night-long vigil with lamps and kīrtana; the devotees are portrayed as ‘dear’—radiant and composed.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Ṣaḍānana (Skanda epithet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Regular observance of Viṣṇu’s holy day and vigil is upheld as a wholesome devotional discipline beloved by the divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader glorification remains Dvārakā as the setting of the Dvārakā Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observing Viṣṇu’s sacred day (vāsara/harivāsara) with the recommended practice of night vigil (jāgaraṇa).