Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

कश्यपाय महीं दत्त्वा सपर्वतवनाकराम् । तपस्तपति देवेशो महेन्द्रेऽद्यापि भारत

Transliteration

kaśyapāya mahīṃ dattvā saparvatavanākarām | tapastapati deveśo mahendre'dyāpi bhārata

Translation

Nachdem er Kaśyapa die Erde gegeben hatte—mit Bergen, Wäldern und Erzgruben—übt jener Herr der Götter noch heute Tapas auf dem Berge Mahendra, o Bhārata.

Word by Word

• कश्यपाय: to Kaśyapa
• कश्यपाय: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कश्यप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; English: masculine dative singular

• महीम्: the earth
• महीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; English: feminine accusative singular

• दत्त्वा: having given
• दत्त्वा: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: दा-धातोः त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्तः (क्त्वान्त/gerund); English: absolutive “having given”

• सपर्वतवनाकराम्: together with mountains, forests, and mines
• सपर्वतवनाकराम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स-पर्वत-वन-आकर (प्रातिपदिक); घटकाः: स + पर्वत + वन + आकर
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘महीम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्; English: feminine accusative singular adjective

• तपः: austerity/penance
• तपः: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; English: neuter accusative singular

• तपति: performs (penance)
• तपति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (वर्तमान/Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; English: present, 3rd person singular, active

• देवेशः: the Lord of gods
• देवेशः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव-ईश (प्रातिपदिक); घटकाः: देव + ईश
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; English: masculine nominative singular

• महेन्द्रे: on Mahendra (mountain)
• महेन्द्रे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; English: masculine locative singular

• अद्यापि: even today/still
• अद्यापि: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य + अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्ययसमूहः (adverbial phrase); English: ‘even today/still’

• भारत: O Bhārata
• भारत: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; English: vocative singular

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahendra-parvata (Mahendragiri)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Paraśurāma offering the earth symbolically to sage Kaśyapa; then seated in meditation on Mahendra peak amid clouds, waterfalls, and forest, with deer and sages nearby—timeless austerity.

Characters & Entities

• Paraśurāma (implied continuation)
• Kaśyapa
• Mahendra (mountain)
• Bhārata (addressed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Renunciation and tapas sanctify even great power—after restoring order, the righteous turn toward austerity and restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mount Mahendra is indicated as a sanctified locale associated with enduring tapas (a sacred-geography marker within Purāṇic tradition).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed, but the verse implicitly extols tapas (austerity) as a dharmic discipline.