Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

तदेव हि परं ज्ञानं कामो येन प्रजायते । महत्तपस्तदेवाहुश्चातुमास्ये फलोत्तमम्

Transliteration

tadeva hi paraṃ jñānaṃ kāmo yena prajāyate | mahattapastadevāhuścātumāsye phalottamam

Translation

కామము ఏ మూలమున జన్మించునో దానిని మూలతః గ్రహించుటే పరమజ్ఞానం. అదే మహత్తపస్సు అని చెప్పబడింది; చాతుర్మాస్యకాలంలో అది శ్రేష్ఠ ఫలమును ఇస్తుంది।

Word by Word

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• hi: indeed, for
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतुवाचक/निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle: for/indeed)

• param: supreme
• param: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (पर-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; विशेषण

• jñānam: knowledge
• jñānam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (ज्ञान-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• kāmaḥ: desire
• kāmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (काम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• yena: by which
• yena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद्-सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• prajāyate: arises, is born
• prajāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√jan (प्र + √जन्, धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; भावे/कर्तरि प्रयोग (is born/arises)

• mahat: great
• mahat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (महत्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; विशेषण

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (तपस्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• āhuḥ: they say
• āhuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ah (अह्/ब्रू, धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• cātumāsye: in the Cāturmāsya (four-month observance)
• cātumāsye: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāturmāsya (चातुर्मास्य-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• phala-uttamam: the सर्वोत्तम fruit/best result
• phala-uttamam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (फल-प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (उत्तम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (uttamaṃ phalam)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya didactic context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A meditating ascetic watches a subtle chain: sense-object → thought → desire, depicted as translucent links dissolving into light; monsoon clouds mark Cāturmāsya, and a radiant fruit/lotus symbolizes ‘phalottama’.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Know the causal roots of desire and discipline them; such insight itself becomes great tapas, ripening especially in Cāturmāsya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is specified; the verse highlights the season (Cāturmāsya) as a sacred time that amplifies spiritual results.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Practice ‘great tapas’ during Cāturmāsya—understood as disciplined living supported by self-knowledge and restraint.