Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच माघस्य कृष्णपक्षे या तिथिश्चैव चतुर्दशी । तस्या रात्रिः समाख्याता शिवरात्रिसमुद्भवा

Transliteration

sūta uvāca māghasya kṛṣṇapakṣe yā tithiścaiva caturdaśī | tasyā rātriḥ samākhyātā śivarātrisamudbhavā

Translation

สูตะกล่าวว่า “ในเดือนมาฆะ ข้างแรม (กฤษณปักษ์) ตรงกับวันจตุรทศี—ราตรีของวันนั้นประกาศว่าเป็นศิวราตรี ราตรีอันเป็นที่รู้จักในนามศิวราตรี”

Word by Word

• सूतः: Sūta
• सूतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• माघस्य: of Māgha (month)
• माघस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (genitive), एकवचन

• कृष्णपक्षे: in the dark fortnight
• कृष्णपक्षे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + पक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (locative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः: कृष्णः पक्षः (dark fortnight)

• या: which
• या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक relative pronoun

• तिथिः: lunar day (tithi)
• तिथिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिथि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय conjunction)

• एव: indeed; precisely
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण/emphasis)

• चतुर्दशी: the fourteenth (tithi)
• चतुर्दशी: Karta (Apposition to तिथिः/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + ई (प्रत्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तिथिवाचक (the fourteenth lunar day)

• तस्याः: of that (tithi)
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (genitive), एकवचन

• रात्रिः: night
• रात्रिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• समाख्याता: is called; is named
• समाख्याता: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-ख्या (धातु) + सम् (उपसर्ग)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘called/known as’

• शिवरात्रिसमुद्भवा: arisen as Śivarātri; originating as Śivarātri
• शिवरात्रिसमुद्भवा: Karta (Subject attribute/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिवरात्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: शिवरात्रेः समुद्भवा (arisen as/connected with Śivarātri)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sauti)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śivarātri (as sacred time)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta instructing sages with a lunar calendar motif: dark fortnight of Māgha, the fourteenth tithi, and the sanctified night; a crescent-to-new-moon sky over a liṅga shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Śivarātri
• Māgha (month)
• Kṛṣṇapakṣa (dark fortnight)
• Caturdaśī (14th tithi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred observances depend on sacred time: aligning worship with the correct tithi is part of Purāṇic dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The timing is taught within the Maṃkaṇeśvara tīrtha narrative of Nāgara Khaṇḍa, Adhyāya 266.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śivarātri is to be observed on Māgha month’s kṛṣṇapakṣa caturdaśī night.