Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 150

Devanagari script

तत्र जागरणं कृत्वाऽशोकाष्टम्यां मधौ नरः । न जातु शोकं लभते सदानंदमयो भवेत्

Transliteration

tatra jāgaraṇaṃ kṛtvā'śokāṣṭamyāṃ madhau naraḥ | na jātu śokaṃ labhate sadānaṃdamayo bhavet

Translation

若有人于“蜜月”（Madhu，即恰特罗月/Caitra）的“无忧第八日”（Aśokāṣṭamī）在彼处守夜（jāgaraṇa），便永不再遭忧苦，恒常充满安乐之喜。

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• jāgaraṇam: vigil; staying awake
• jāgaraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāgaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन (neuter accusative singular)

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Converb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṛ (√कृ, धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• aśokāṣṭamyām: on Aśokāṣṭamī (the Aśoka eighth day)
• aśokāṣṭamyām: Adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśoka (प्रातिपदिक) + aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘अशोका अष्टमी’/‘अशोक-नाम्नी अष्टमी’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (fem loc sg)

• madhau: in spring; in the Madhu month/season
• madhau: Adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन (masc loc sg)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (masc nom sg)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation particle)

• jātu: ever
• jātu: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: jātu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (adverb: ever/at any time)

• śokam: sorrow
• śokam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śoka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन (masc acc sg)

• labhate: obtains
• labhate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (√लभ्, धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद (he obtains)

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नित्यत्ववाचक (adverb: always)

• ānandamayaḥ: full of bliss
• ānandamayaḥ: Kartṛsāmānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘आनन्द-मय’); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण/प्रेडिकेटिव (masc nom sg)

• bhavet: would become
• bhavet: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (√भू, धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (would become)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: (Contextual) the specified Kāśī shrine/tīrtha where jāgaraṇa is prescribed

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-seeker interlocutor

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night in Kāśī: devotees keep vigil with rows of oil lamps, singing and reciting; the shrine glows; the sky hints of spring (Caitra). At dawn, faces are serene, symbolizing freedom from sorrow.

Characters & Entities

• Aśokāṣṭamī
• Madhu (Caitra)
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional discipline (jāgaraṇa) performed in a sacred place at an auspicious time is taught as transforming grief into lasting spiritual joy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘there’ refers to the Kāśī sacred locale being described in Adhyāya 47, within the network of liṅgas and tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Keeping a devotional night vigil (jāgaraṇa) on Aśokāṣṭamī in the month of Madhu (Caitra).