Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

रूपवंतमधीयानमेकमेकांतचारिणम् । तस्य वै तपसा वीर तद्वनं तेजसावृतम्

Transliteration

rūpavaṃtamadhīyānamekamekāṃtacāriṇam | tasya vai tapasā vīra tadvanaṃ tejasāvṛtam

Translation

„Er war von schöner Gestalt, dem heiligen Studium hingegeben, allein und in Zurückgezogenheit lebend. O Held, durch seine Askese war jener Wald von Glanz umhüllt.“

Word by Word

• rūpavantam: handsome
• rūpavantam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rūpavant (रूपवत्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘ब्राह्मणम्’ (implicit) इति विशेषणम्

• adhīyānam: studying/reciting
• adhīyānam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhi-√i (इ धातु) / √adhī (अधी धातु) + śatṛ (शतृ)
• Form: कृदन्त (वर्तमानकृदन्त/शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘अधीयान’ = studying/reciting (Veda)

• ekam: one/alone
• ekam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘ब्राह्मणम्’ इति विशेषणम्

• ekānta-cāriṇam: moving in solitude
• ekānta-cāriṇam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekānta (प्रातिपदिक) + cārin (चारिन्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘एकान्ते चरति’ = solitary-wandering

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

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/assurance particle)

• tapasā: by austerity
• tapasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• vīra: O hero
• vīra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Demonstrative/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘वनम्’ इति विशेषणम्

• vanam: forest
• vanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• tejasā: by radiance
• tejasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tejas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• āvṛtam: covered/enveloped
• āvṛtam: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√vṛ (वृ धातु) + āvṛta (आवृत-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त (भूतकृत्/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘वनम्’ इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Varcā (Apsaras)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Devarāṇya (tapas-kṣetra within it)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A handsome solitary brāhmaṇa, absorbed in study, moves alone in seclusion; his austerity wraps the forest in a luminous aura, as if the grove itself is glowing.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa ascetic (unnamed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tapas and svādhyāya (sacred study) generate tejas—transforming not only the practitioner but also the surrounding environment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse praises a forest sanctified by austerity, but does not provide a named tīrtha in this snippet.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied practice: svādhyāya (Vedic recitation/study) and tapas in seclusion; no explicit injunction is stated.