Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

माघफाल्गुनयोर्मध्ये कृष्णपक्षे चतुर्दशी । शिवरात्रिरिति ख्याता भूतलेऽस्मिन्महामते

Transliteration

māghaphālgunayormadhye kṛṣṇapakṣe caturdaśī | śivarātririti khyātā bhūtale'sminmahāmate

Translation

Giữa tháng Māgha và Phālguna, vào ngày mười bốn của nửa tháng tối (Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa), trên cõi đất này được gọi là Śivarātri, hỡi bậc đại trí.

Word by Word

• māgha-phālgunayoḥ: of Māgha and Phālguna (months)
• māgha-phālgunayoḥ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māgha (माघ-प्रातिपदिक) + phālguna (फाल्गुन-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (माघश्च फाल्गुनश्च); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन

• madhye: in the middle
• madhye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhya (मध्य-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• kṛṣṇa-pakṣe: in the dark fortnight
• kṛṣṇa-pakṣe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण-प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣa (पक्ष-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (कृष्णः पक्षः); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• caturdaśī: the fourteenth lunar day
• caturdaśī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (चतुर्दशी-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• śiva-rātriḥ: Śivarātri (night of Śiva)
• śiva-rātriḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (शिव-प्रातिपदिक) + rātri (रात्रि-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (शिवस्य रात्रिः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• iti: thus, as
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/इति-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (इति)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• khyātā: is known (as)
• khyātā: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √khyā (ख्या-धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘is known/called’

• bhūtale: on the earth
• bhūtale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūtala (भूतल-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (इदम्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• mahāmate: O great-minded one
• mahāmate: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahāmati (महामति-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Pulastya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śivarātri (Mahāśivarātri)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (mahāmati addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Didactic depiction of the lunar calendar: dark fortnight, fourteenth tithi highlighted; devotees preparing for night-long Śiva worship under a moonlit sky at the cusp of Māgha and Phālguna.

Characters & Entities

• Śivarātri
• Māgha
• Phālguna
• Kṛṣṇapakṣa
• Caturdaśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time (kāla) is sanctified for worship; observing the right tithi is part of dharmic discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse defines the festival timing; within the chapter it supports Kedāra worship, though no site is named here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It prescribes the timing of Śivarātri: kṛṣṇapakṣa caturdaśī in the Māgha–Phālguna junction.