Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

किं व्रतैः किं वृथा दानैः किं जपैर्नियमेन वा । महाकालस्य ते सर्वे कलां नार्हंति षोडशीम्

Transliteration

kiṃ vrataiḥ kiṃ vṛthā dānaiḥ kiṃ japairniyamena vā | mahākālasya te sarve kalāṃ nārhaṃti ṣoḍaśīm

Translation

จะมีประโยชน์อันใดด้วยวัตร? จะมีประโยชน์อันใดด้วยทานอันไร้ผล? จะมีประโยชน์อันใดด้วยชปะและนียมะ? ทั้งหมดนั้นรวมกันยังไม่คู่ควรแม้เพียงหนึ่งในสิบหกส่วนแห่งพระมหากาล

Word by Word

• किम्: what (use?)
• किम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचनम्; प्रश्नार्थक-प्रयोगः

• व्रतैः: with vows / by vows
• व्रतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचनम्

• किम्: what (use?)
• किम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचनम्; प्रश्नार्थक-प्रयोगः

• वृथा: in vain
• वृथा: Sambandha (Modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वृथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb: in vain)

• दानैः: by gifts/charity
• दानैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचनम्

• किम्: what (use?)
• किम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचनम्; प्रश्नार्थक-प्रयोगः

• जपैः: by recitations
• जपैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचनम्

• नियमेन: by discipline/observance
• नियमेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचनम्

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-अव्ययम् (particle: or)

• महाकालस्य: of Mahākāla
• महाकालस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाकाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समासः (महान् कालः); पुल्लिङ्गे षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचनम्

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचनम्

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचनम्; (te इति विशेष्यस्य)

• कलाम्: a fraction/part
• कलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचनम्

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्ययम् (negation particle)

• अर्हन्ति: are worth/deserve
• अर्हन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अर्ह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम्

• षोडशीम्: sixteenth
• षोडशीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षोडशिन्/षोडशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचनम्; (kalām इति विशेष्यस्य)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahākāla

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: General audience; rhetorical questions address practitioners

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mahākāla’s liṅga radiates overwhelming light; around it lie symbolic items of vows, gifts, rosaries, and ascetic tools shown as small and dim, emphasizing that even all combined are less than a sixteenth of Mahākāla’s glory.

Characters & Entities

• Mahākāla
• Vrata
• Dāna
• Japa
• Niyama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text exalts Mahākāla-bhakti and kṣetra-mahātmya as surpassing routine religiosity when those acts lack true devotion and right purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mahākāla’s kṣetra at Ujjayinī (Ujjain) is the implied locus of this exaltation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new prescription; it is a comparative praise asserting the superior efficacy of Mahākāla’s grace/merit.