Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

यो यं काममभिध्याय तत्र पीठं प्रपूजयेत् । संपूज्य योगिनीवृंदं कन्यकावृन्दमेव च

Transliteration

yo yaṃ kāmamabhidhyāya tatra pīṭhaṃ prapūjayet | saṃpūjya yoginīvṛṃdaṃ kanyakāvṛndameva ca

Translation

若人随所愿而观想，在彼处礼敬彼圣座（pīṭha），并如法供养瑜伽女众（Yoginī）之群，以及诸少女之会众——

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचनम्

• यम्: which/whom
• यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचनम्; (kāmam इति विशेष्यस्य)

• कामम्: desire/wish
• कामम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचनम्

• अभिध्याय: having contemplated
• अभिध्याय: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-√ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्तम् (absolutive/gerund); ‘having meditated/thought upon’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (adverb of place)

• पीठम्: seat/altar (pīṭha)
• पीठम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पीठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचनम्

• प्रपूजयेत्: should worship
• प्रपूजयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम्

• संपूज्य: having worshipped well
• संपूज्य: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√पूज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्तम् (absolutive/gerund); ‘having duly worshipped’

• योगिनीवृन्दम्: the group of Yoginīs
• योगिनीवृन्दम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योगिनी + वृन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (योगिनीनां वृन्दम्); नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचनम्

• कन्यकावृन्दम्: the group of maidens
• कन्यकावृन्दम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्यका + वृन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (कन्यकानां वृन्दम्); नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचनम्

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारण-अव्ययम् (emphatic particle)

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

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Yoginī-pīṭha at Mahākāla-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijottamāḥ/assembly of hearers (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sanctified pīṭha altar with lamps and offerings; a circle of Yoginīs in dynamic postures around it; a line of young maidens honored with flowers and sandal paste; the devotee meditates on a chosen desire (saṅkalpa).

Characters & Entities

• Pīṭha
• Yoginī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right intention joined to reverent worship at a pīṭha is presented as a means to attain aims, under the guardianship of divine powers like Yoginīs.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Ujjayinī pīṭha introduced earlier in the chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship the pīṭha, along with honoring the Yoginī host and the kanyakā-vṛnda (assembly of maidens/virgins).