Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 153

Devanagari script

माघमासे सिते पक्षे त्रयो दश्यां दिने स्थिते । तद्ग्रामसंस्थिता लोका येऽत्रागत्य समाहिताः

Transliteration

māghamāse site pakṣe trayo daśyāṃ dine sthite | tadgrāmasaṃsthitā lokā ye'trāgatya samāhitāḥ

Translation

माघ महिन्याच्या शुक्ल पक्षात त्रयोदशी तिथी आली असता, त्या गावांत राहणारे जे लोक येथे एकाग्र मनाने येतात—

Word by Word

• māghamāse: in the month of Māgha
• māghamāse: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māgha (प्रातिपदिक) + māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (माघस्य मासः), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• site: bright (white)
• site: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; pakṣe इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• pakṣe: in the fortnight
• pakṣe: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• trayaḥ: three
• trayaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-विशेषण, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (used distributively with days)

• daśyām: on the tenth (tithi)
• daśyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (तिथि: दशमी)

• dine: on the day
• dine: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• sthite: having come/occurred
• sthite: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (धातु) + kta (क्त) → sthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; dine इत्यस्य विशेषणम् (when the day has arrived)

• tadgrāmasaṃsthitāḥ: residing in that village
• tadgrāmasaṃsthitāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम) + grāma (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃsthita (sam-sthā धातु + kta)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तस्मिन् ग्रामे संस्थिताः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; lokāḥ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• lokāḥ: people
• lokāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• atra: here
• atra: Deśa (Place marker/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• āgatya: having come
• āgatya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund)

• samāhitāḥ: collected/attentive
• samāhitāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-dhā (धातु) + kta (क्त) → samāhita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; lokāḥ/ye इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: narrator introducing a calendrical observance at the tīrtha)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bālamaṇḍanaka

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On Māgha śukla trayodaśī, villagers walk in procession toward the sacred tank and liṅga, carrying flowers, lamps, and water pots, faces calm and intent.

Characters & Entities

• Māgha (month)
• Śukla pakṣa (bright fortnight)
• Trayodaśī (tithi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time (kāla) enhances sacred place (deśa); visiting a tīrtha on an auspicious tithi with concentration is especially meritorious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bālamaṇḍanaka tīrtha, with a specific calendrical occasion highlighted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Come to the tīrtha in Māgha, bright fortnight, on Trayodaśī, with a composed and attentive mind (preparatory requirement for worship described next).