Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

कार्त्तिकस्य चतुर्दश्यामष्टम्यां च विशेषतः । स्नापयेद्गिरिजानाथं दधिदुग्धेन सर्पिषा

Transliteration

kārttikasya caturdaśyāmaṣṭamyāṃ ca viśeṣataḥ | snāpayedgirijānāthaṃ dadhidugdhena sarpiṣā

Translation

Terutama pada tithi keempat belas bulan Kārttika dan khususnya pada tithi kelapan, hendaklah memandikan Girijānātha (Śiva) dengan dadih, susu dan minyak sapi suci (ghee).

Word by Word

• कार्त्तिकस्य: of (the month) Kārttika
• कार्त्तिकस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्त्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन — ‘of Kārttika (month)’

• चतुर्दश्याम्: on the fourteenth lunar day
• चतुर्दश्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन — ‘on the fourteenth (tithi)’

• अष्टम्याम्: on the eighth lunar day
• अष्टम्याम्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टमी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन — ‘on the eighth (tithi)’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• विशेषतः: especially
• विशेषतः: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• स्नापयेत्: should bathe (cause to be bathed)
• स्नापयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु) + णिच् (causative)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद — ‘should cause to bathe’

• गिरिजानाथम्: the Lord of Girijā (Śiva)
• गिरिजानाथम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरिजा + नाथ (प्रातिपदिक); ‘गिरिजायाः नाथः’
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — कर्मपद

• दधिदुग्धेन: with curd and milk
• दधिदुग्धेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दधि + दुग्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन — ‘with curd-and-milk’

• सर्पिषा: with ghee
• सर्पिषा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्पिस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन — ‘with ghee’

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (context: Purāṇic narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kumāreśvara / Girijānātha tīrtha (as implied by adjoining verses)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍunandana (a Pāṇḍava/royal addressee)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Śaiva shrine at a riverine tīrtha in Kārttika season: priests pour curd, milk, and ghee in abhiṣeka over a liṅga titled Girijānātha; lamps glow, pilgrims stand with folded hands, Narmadā-like waters nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Kārttika (month)
• Girijānātha (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kārttika is exalted as a powerful time for Śiva-bhakti, where ritual worship becomes especially meritorious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse gives a ritual for the tīrtha context of Revā Khaṇḍa; the worship is directed to Girijānātha at/through the local shrine.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Abhiṣeka (snāpana) of Śiva with dadhi (curd), dugdha (milk), and sarpis (ghee), particularly on Kārttika aṣṭamī and caturdaśī.