Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

चातुर्मास्ये समायाते विशेषात्पूजयेच्च तौ । अर्चितौ यावभेदेन स्वर्गमोक्षप्रदायकौ

Transliteration

cāturmāsye samāyāte viśeṣātpūjayecca tau | arcitau yāvabhedena svargamokṣapradāyakau

Translation

Apabila Cāturmāsya tiba, hendaklah kedua-dua-Nya dipuja dengan perhatian yang khusus. Apabila dipuja—walau dengan perbezaan sekecil sebutir barli—mereka menjadi penganugeraha syurga dan moksha (pembebasan).

Word by Word

• cāturmāsye: in the Cāturmāsya season
• cāturmāsye: Adhikaraṇa (Time-location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāturmāsya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्

• samāyāte: when it has arrived
• samāyāte: Kāla (Locative absolute/काल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-yā (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्; सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute)

• viśeṣāt: especially
• viśeṣāt: Hetu/Prakāra (Reason/Manner)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचनम्; हेत्वर्थे (as an adverbial ablative: 'especially')

• pūjayet: should worship
• pūjayet: Kriyā (Injunction/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; विधिवाक्ये (injunctive sense: 'one should worship')

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (and)

• tau: those two
• tau: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, द्विवचनम् (dual)

• arcitau: worshipped
• arcitau: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: arc (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनम्; विशेषणम् (qualifying tau; 'when worshipped')

• yāvat: according to
• yāvat: Pramāṇa (Measure/प्रमाण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधिवाचक-अव्यय (as much as/according to)

• abhedena: without difference
• abhedena: Prakāra (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचनम्; अव्ययीभावार्थे (instrumental of manner: 'without distinction')

• svargamokṣapradāyakau: bestowers of heaven and liberation
• svargamokṣapradāyakau: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक) + mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + pradāyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्वपूर्वपद-तत्पुरुषः (svarga-mokṣayoḥ pradāyakaḥ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनम्; विशेषणम् (qualifying tau)

Speaker

Gālava (continuing instruction within the dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śālagrāma (with Hari–Hara focus)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahāśūdra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Monsoon season shrine: rain outside, inside a lamp-lit altar with Śālagrāma and a liṅga side-by-side; devotees perform special Cāturmāsya pūjā with flowers and offerings, suggesting heaven and liberation as radiant paths above.

Characters & Entities

• Cāturmāsya
• svarga
• mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time (Cāturmāsya) intensifies the fruit of worship, linking disciplined devotion with both worldly and liberating outcomes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a single geography is named in this verse; it emphasizes sacred time and worship within the Śālagrāma/liṅga devotional framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform special pūjā during Cāturmāsya for “those two” revered forms (contextually Hari–Hara/Śālagrāma–liṅga).