Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

सैंहिकेयो यदा चंद्रं ग्रसते पर्वसंधिषु । हस्तिच्छाया तु सा ज्ञेया तस्यां श्राद्धं समाचरेत्

Transliteration

saiṃhikeyo yadā caṃdraṃ grasate parvasaṃdhiṣu | hasticchāyā tu sā jñeyā tasyāṃ śrāddhaṃ samācaret

Translation

ପର୍ବସନ୍ଧିରେ (ଗ୍ରହଣକାଳେ) ସୈଂହିକେୟ (ରାହୁ) ଚନ୍ଦ୍ରକୁ ଗ୍ରସିଲେ, ସେହିଟି ‘ହସ୍ତିଛାୟା’ ବୋଲି ଜ୍ଞେୟ; ସେ ସମୟରେ ବିଧିପୂର୍ବକ ଶ୍ରାଦ୍ଧ କରିବା ଉଚିତ।

Word by Word

• saiṃhikeyaḥ: Rāhu
• saiṃhikeyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saiṃhikeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘Rāhu (son of Siṃhikā)’

• yadā: when
• yadā: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) = ‘when’

• caṃdram: the moon
• caṃdram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṃdra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘the moon’

• grasate: swallows
• grasate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gras (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; ‘swallows/seizes’

• parvasaṃdhiṣu: at the phase-junctions
• parvasaṃdhiṣu: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvan + saṃdhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन; ‘at the junctions of the lunar phases/fortnights’

• hasticchāyā: the elephant-shadow
• hasticchāyā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hasti + chāyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘elephant-shadow’ (a named phenomenon)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण) = ‘indeed’

• sā: that
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘that’

• jñeyā: should be known
• jñeyā: Kriya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jñā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (तव्यत्/gerundive), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘to be known/should be recognized’

• tasyām: on that occasion
• tasyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘in that (time/occasion)’

• śrāddham: śrāddha rite
• śrāddham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘śrāddha (rite)’

• samācaret: should perform
• samācaret: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√car (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘should perform’

Speaker

Agniveśa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic lunar eclipse: Rāhu’s dark form covers the Moon at the fortnight junction; below, a devotee prepares śrāddha offerings, with an elephant-shadow motif cast across the ground.

Characters & Entities

• Saiṃhikeyā (Rāhu)
• Candra (Moon)
• parva-saṃdhi
• śrāddha
• hasti-chāyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even liminal cosmic events like eclipses can become dharmic opportunities when used for pitṛ-tarpaṇa and śrāddha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is about time (kāla) sanctity rather than a named place; it sits within a Tīrthamāhātmya framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform śrāddha during the ‘hasti-chāyā’ condition—i.e., when Rāhu eclipses the Moon at parva junctions.