Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

इंद्रद्युम्नो महीपालो बिभोम्यस्मादलंतराम् । अमुना यजमानेन रौचकाख्ये पुरा पुरे

Transliteration

iṃdradyumno mahīpālo bibhomyasmādalaṃtarām | amunā yajamānena raucakākhye purā pure

Translation

Indradyumna, den König, fürchte ich sehr aus diesem Grund: einst, in einer Stadt namens Raucaka, war eben jener Mann als yajamāna (Opferherr des yajña) tätig, …

Word by Word

• इन्द्रद्युम्नः: Indradyumna
• इन्द्रद्युम्नः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्र + द्युम्न (प्रातिपदिक); (समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नाम; तत्पुरुषः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषभावः): ‘इन्द्रस्य द्युम्नम्’ इति; Nominative singular

• महीपालः: the king
• महीपालः: कर्ता (Apposition to subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही + पाल (प्रातिपदिक); (समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘महीम् पालयति’/‘महीपालः’ = king; Nominative singular

• बिभोमि: I am / I exist
• बिभोमि: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘I am/I exist’ (bibhemi/bibhomi as textual form)

• अस्मात्: from me/from this
• अस्मात्: अपादान (Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; ablative singular ‘from me/from this’

• अलन्तराम्: quite sufficiently/very much
• अलन्तराम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अलम् + तराम् (अव्यय; तरप्-प्रत्यय-निबद्ध तुलनार्थ)
• Form: अव्ययप्रयोगः; ‘अलम्’ (enough) + ‘तराम्’ (more/very much) = ‘very sufficiently/quite enough’ (intensifier)

• अमुना: by that (person)
• अमुना: करण (Instrument/agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; instrumental singular ‘by that’

• यजमानेन: by the sacrificer
• यजमानेन: करण (Instrument/agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यजमान (कृदन्त; √यज् (धातु) + शानच्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; वर्तमानकृदन्त (शानच्), ‘sacrificer/one performing sacrifice’; Instrumental singular

• रौचकाख्ये: in (the place) called Raucaka
• रौचकाख्ये: अधिकरण (Location)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रौचक + आख्य (प्रातिपदिक); (समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘रौचक इति आख्यं यस्य’ = named Raucaka; Locative singular (agreeing with ‘पुरे’)

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: कालाधिकरण (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time): formerly/once

• पुरे: in the city
• पुरे: अधिकरण (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; locative singular

Speaker

Kūrma

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Raucaka (narrative locale)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kuruśreṣṭha / Kurusattama (addressed in v.10.15)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A speaking tortoise (or a fearful being) recalls King Indradyumna and a past yajña in the city of Raucaka; the king appears as a formidable sacrificer amid blazing altars and priests.

Characters & Entities

• Indradyumna
• Kūrma
• Raucaka (city)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Actions performed in ritual contexts (yajña) can leave lasting consequences, remembered even across time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A city named Raucaka is mentioned, but this verse does not explicitly frame it as a tīrtha-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse references a yajña and the role of the yajamāna (sacrificial patron), without prescribing a specific ritual act.