Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

देवाग्रे जागरः कार्यो दीपो देयोंऽतिभूमिषु । सप्तधान्यमयाः सप्त पर्वता दीपसंयुताः

Transliteration

devāgre jāgaraḥ kāryo dīpo deyoṃ'tibhūmiṣu | saptadhānyamayāḥ sapta parvatā dīpasaṃyutāḥ

Translation

ต่อหน้าพระเทวะ พึงทำชาคระ (การเฝ้าตื่นยามค่ำ) และถวายประทีปบนแท่นที่ยกสูง จัด ‘ภูเขา’ เจ็ดกองจากธัญพืชเจ็ดชนิด โดยแต่ละกองประดับด้วยประทีป

Word by Word

• देवाग्रे: before the deity
• देवाग्रे: Adhikarana (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव + अग्र (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (अग्रम्), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः: देव-अग्रे (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष) — ‘in front of the deity’

• जागरः: vigil (night-wake)
• जागरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कार्यः: should be performed
• कार्यः: Vidhi (Obligation predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: कृ धातोः, कर्तव्यतार्थे ‘यत्’/‘ण्यत्’ (कार्य), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘to be done/should be done’ (gerundive)

• दीपः: lamp
• दीपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• देयः: should be given/offered
• देयः: Vidhi (Obligation predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: दा धातोः, कर्तव्यतार्थे ‘यत्’ (देय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘to be given/should be offered’ (gerundive)

• अतिभूमिषु: on raised places/grounds
• अतिभूमिषु: Adhikarana (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अति (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (भूमि), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), बहुवचन; समासः: अति-भूमि (तत्पुरुष) — ‘on elevated/raised grounds’

• सप्तधान्यमयाः: made of seven kinds of grain
• सप्तधान्यमयाः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त + धान्य + मय (प्रातिपदिकानि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः: सप्त-धान्य-मय (तत्पुरुष) — ‘made of seven grains’

• सप्त: seven
• सप्त: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-विशेषण, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (पर्वतान् विशेषयति)

• पर्वताः: mounds/mountains
• पर्वताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• दीपसंयुताः: provided with lamps
• दीपसंयुताः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीप + संयुत (कृदन्त; √युज् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः: दीप-संयुत (तत्पुरुष) — ‘endowed with lamps’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa māhātmya narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A night festival in the temple courtyard: devotees keep vigil as rows of lamps blaze on elevated platforms; seven conical mounds of different grains stand like miniature mountains, each crowned with lamps, casting a golden glow.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Wakeful devotion and lamp-offering symbolize sustained awareness and the dispelling of ignorance through sacred observance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The rite is embedded in the Vastrāpathakṣetra māhātmya, presenting the local temple context as a powerful setting for jāgaraṇa and dīpa-dāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Keep vigil before the deity, offer lamps on raised platforms, and arrange seven heaps of seven grains adorned with lamps.