Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

परस्परं वंचयंतौ सिंहाविव महाबलौ । वैतालिकीं समाश्रित्य तथा वै खेचरीं गतिम्

Transliteration

parasparaṃ vaṃcayaṃtau siṃhāviva mahābalau | vaitālikīṃ samāśritya tathā vai khecarīṃ gatim

Translation

وكانا يخادع أحدهما الآخر ويتفلت منه كأنهما أسدان عظيمَا القوة؛ فاتّخذا هيئة الحركة «فيتالِكي» وكذلك «خِتشَري»—أي التجوال في الفضاء.

Word by Word

• परस्परम्: each other
• परस्परम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परस्पर (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभावप्राय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (reciprocal adverb)

• वंचयन्तौ: deceiving/outwitting
• वंचयन्तौ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वञ्च् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त) 'वञ्चयन्त्'
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन — कर्तरि

• सिंहौ: two lions
• सिंहौ: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन — उपमान (simile base)

• इव: like
• इव: Upama (Simile marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमावाचक (comparative particle)

• महाबलौ: very strong
• महाबलौ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महā (पूर्वपद) + बल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन — कर्मधारयः; विशेषणम् (of the two fighters)

• वैतालिकीम्: the vaitālikī (a kind of)
• वैतालिकीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैतालिकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — 'गति'विशेषणरूपेण

• समाश्रित्य: having adopted
• समाश्रित्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्-आ-√श्रि (धातु) + ल्यप् (अव्ययकृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), 'having resorted to/adopted'

• तथा: thus, likewise
• तथा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (emphatic particle)

• खेचरीम्: sky-moving, aerial
• खेचरीम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: खेचरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषणम् (of 'गतिम्')

• गतिम्: movement, mode of motion
• गतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Like two lions, the combatants feint and outmaneuver; they shift into specialized modes—vaitālikī and khecarī—leaping, circling, and fighting through the sky.

Characters & Entities

• Tāraka
• Kumāra (Skanda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly conflict relies on strategy and deception; spiritual victory, however, belongs to clear-sighted dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra-khaṇḍa provides the setting; no particular tīrtha is singled out in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.