Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

सुतः स भविता तस्य तारकस्यांतकारकः । अहं त्वादौ यदा जातस्तदापश्यं पुरःस्थितम्

Transliteration

sutaḥ sa bhavitā tasya tārakasyāṃtakārakaḥ | ahaṃ tvādau yadā jātastadāpaśyaṃ puraḥsthitam

Translation

ذلك الابن سيكون مُنهيَ تاراكا. وحين وُلدتُ أنا أولَ مرةٍ رأيتُ الربَّ قائمًا أمامي.

Word by Word

• sutaḥ: son
• sutaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhavitā: will be
• bhavitā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; periphrastic/nominal future form ‘भविता’

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• tārakasya: of Tāraka
• tārakasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• antakārakaḥ: slayer; bringer of death (to him)
• antakārakaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antaka (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अन्तकस्य/अन्तं करोति इति); पुंलिङ्ग, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• tu: but; indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/समुच्चय-भेदक) — but/indeed

• ādau: at first; in the beginning
• ādau: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग/क्रियाविशेषणवत् सप्तमी-एकवचन रूप ‘आदौ’ = in the beginning

• yadā: when
• yadā: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक-सम्बन्ध) — when

• jātaḥ: born
• jātaḥ: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jan (धातु) → jāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘जात’ — पुंलिङ्ग, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); ‘अहम्’ विशेषण

• tadā: then
• tadā: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) — then

• apaśyam: I saw
• apaśyam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) with prefix apa-
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• puraḥsthitam: standing before (me)
• puraḥsthitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puraḥ (अव्यय) + sthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव (पुरः स्थितम् = standing in front); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); ‘(किंचित्)’ कर्म-विशेषणरूपेण

Speaker

Brahmā (autobiographical ‘aham’; deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rātri/Vibhāvarī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā declares the son will end Tāraka; then recalls his own first birth and the immediate vision of the Lord standing before him—an archetypal ‘first darśana’ moment.

Characters & Entities

• Tāraka
• Śiva (implied as the one seen)
• Skanda (implied future son)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord’s presence precedes creation, and divine intervention arises precisely to end entrenched adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None mentioned.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.