Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

पूज्यते स महादेवः स धर्मः पर उच्यते । दुःखावर्ते तमोघोरे धर्माधर्मजले तथा

Transliteration

pūjyate sa mahādevaḥ sa dharmaḥ para ucyate | duḥkhāvarte tamoghore dharmādharmajale tathā

Translation

Jener Große Gott, Mahādeva, ist zu verehren — dies wird als höchstes Dharma verkündet. Im Wirbel des Leids, in furchtbarer Finsternis und in den Wassern von Dharma und Adharma, die die Wesen fortreißen, ist Er allein die Zuflucht.

Word by Word

• पूज्यते: is worshipped
• पूज्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), आत्मनेपदी, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense: 'is worshipped')

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• महादेवः: Mahādeva (the great god Śiva)
• महादेवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (महान् देवः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• धर्मः: Dharma
• धर्मः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• परः: supreme
• परः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifying 'धर्मः')

• उच्यते: is called
• उच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), आत्मनेपदी, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive: 'is said/called')

• दुःख-आवर्ते: in the whirlpool of sorrow
• दुःख-आवर्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + आवर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (whirlpool of sorrow); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Masculine, Locative, Singular)

• तमः-घोरे: in dreadful darkness
• तमः-घोरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तमस् (प्रातिपदिक) + घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (घोरं तमः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Locative, Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifying the locative setting)

• धर्म-अधर्म-जले: in the waters of dharma and adharma
• धर्म-अधर्म-जले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अधर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative: 'water consisting of dharma and adharma'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (Neuter, Locative, Singular)

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

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stormy ocean-whirlpool labeled ‘duḥkha’ and ‘tamas’; beings struggle amid waves marked ‘dharma’ and ‘adharma’. Above, Mahādeva shines as a calm lighthouse; devotees worship at a liṅga on a rocky shore, finding refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva
• Śiva
• Dharma
• Adharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worship of Mahādeva is presented as the highest Dharma and the sure refuge amid the turbulence of worldly suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is on Śiva as the universal refuge rather than a particular sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The core prescription is pūjā—worship of Mahādeva—as the paramount dharmic act.