Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 159

Devanagari script

शनिदेशे मध्यरात्रौ महीसागरसंगमे । जातीजं रावणो लिंगं जपन्नाम सुदुर्जयम्

Transliteration

śanideśe madhyarātrau mahīsāgarasaṃgame | jātījaṃ rāvaṇo liṃgaṃ japannāma sudurjayam

Translation

Di wilayah Śani, pada tengah malam, di pertemuan daratan dan lautan, Rāvaṇa memuja liṅga daripada kayu jāti sambil melafazkan Nama “Sudurjaya”, Yang Tidak Terkalahkan.

Word by Word

• śanideśe: in Śani’s region/place
• śanideśe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śani + deśa (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• madhyarātrau: at midnight
• madhyarātrau: Adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhya + rātri (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• mahīsāgarasaṃgame: at the confluence of earth and ocean
• mahīsāgarasaṃgame: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī + sāgara + saṃgama (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• jātījam: born of jasmine (jātī)
• jātījam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jātī + ja (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); ‘-ja’ = ‘born of/produced from’

• rāvaṇaḥ: Rāvaṇa
• rāvaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• liṅgam: liṅga
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• japan: chanting
• japan: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jap (जप् धातु) + शतृ (present active participle)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nom./1st), एकवचन (Singular); कर्तरि प्रयोगः

• nāma: the name
• nāma: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); ‘name’ as object of chanting (jap-)

• sudurjayam: very hard to conquer
• sudurjayam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + durjaya (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), per Māheśvarakhaṇḍa default attribution

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahī-sāgara-saṅgama in Śani-deśa (Sudurjaya-liṅga)

Type: sangam

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At midnight on a moonlit shore where waves meet the earth, Rāvaṇa performs intense japa before a small liṅga carved from fragrant jāti-wood; Śani’s austere region is suggested by dark skies and a stern, fated atmosphere.

Characters & Entities

• Śani
• Rāvaṇa
• Śiva
• Sudurjaya
• Ocean (Sāgara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is ‘Sudurjaya’, beyond conquest by any power; intense discipline of time and place (midnight, liminal shore) is framed as potent devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A seashore confluence (mahī–sāgara-saṃgama) is praised as a liminal sacred setting, but the text here does not name a particular coastal tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Japa of the name ‘Sudurjaya’ while worshipping a jāti-made liṅga, specifically performed at midnight at the land–ocean meeting.