Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

ननर्त जागरं प्राप्य जगौ गीतं च पेशलम् । स्वयं च वादयामास नानावाद्यानि वाद्यवित्

Transliteration

nanarta jāgaraṃ prāpya jagau gītaṃ ca peśalam | svayaṃ ca vādayāmāsa nānāvādyāni vādyavit

Translation

Проведя ночь в бдении, она танцевала; затем пела изящные песни и, искусная в инструментах, сама играла на разных музыкальных орудиях.

Word by Word

• nanarta: she danced
• nanarta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nṛt (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• jāgaram: wakefulness (vigil)
• jāgaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन (singular)

• prāpya: having attained
• prāpya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + āp (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव

• jagau: she sang
• jagau: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gai (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• gītam: a song
• gītam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gīta (कृदन्त; √gai धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन (singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• peśalam: graceful, charming
• peśalam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: peśala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन (singular)

• svayam: herself
• svayam: Kartṛ-prayojaka (Emphasis on agent/कर्तृ-बल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, आत्मवाचक (reflexive/emphatic adverb)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• vādayāmāsa: she played (made sound)
• vādayāmāsa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (धातु) (causative: vāday-)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); णिच् (causative)

• nānā-vādyāni: various instruments
• nānā-vādyāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nānā (अव्यय) + vādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd case), बहुवचन (plural); कर्मधारयः (nānāvidhāni vādyāni)

• vādyavit: one skilled in instruments
• vādyavit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vādya + vit (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/स्त्री (common), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन (singular); उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (vādyāni vetti iti)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śivarātri-jāgaraṇa in Kāśī (Ratneśa narrative setting)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kalāvatī stays awake all night, dancing and singing while playing instruments; lamps and devotees surround her, turning the night into a sacred vigil.

Characters & Entities

• Kalāvatī
• Śivarātri vigil (jāgara)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even through culturally familiar acts like night-vigil, song, and dance, Śivarātri can become a vehicle for devotion when oriented toward Śiva.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Avimukta) as the setting of the Śivarātri vigil narrative within the Ratneśvara Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Jāgara (keeping awake/vigil) on Śivarātri is explicitly mentioned; it is a key element of the Śivarātri vrata.