Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

आत्मानं भूषणस्थाने स्वयं ते चक्रुरीश्वरे वायवश्च ततस्तीक्ष्णश्रृंगं हिमगिरिप्रभम्

Transliteration

ātmānaṃ bhūṣaṇasthāne svayaṃ te cakrurīśvare vāyavaśca tatastīkṣṇaśrṛṃgaṃ himagiriprabham

Translation

Sie selbst wurden zu Schmuck am Herrn und nahmen ihre Plätze als seine Zierden ein. Dann formten die Windgötter für Ihn ein scharf zugespitztes Horn, strahlend wie das Himalaya-Gebirge.

Word by Word

• आत्मानम्: themselves
• आत्मानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• भूषणस्थाने: in the place of an ornament
• भूषणस्थाने: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूषण-स्थान (प्रातिपदिक; भूषण + स्थान)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (भूषणस्य स्थानम्)

• स्वयम्: of themselves
• स्वयम्: Karta (Agent-emphasis/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (adverb; ‘of themselves’)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• चक्रुः: made, fashioned
• चक्रुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्ष-भूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• ईश्वरे: for/on the Lord (Śiva)
• ईश्वरे: Sampradana (Beneficiary/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण/सम्प्रदान-प्राय), एकवचन

• वायवः: the winds
• वायवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वायु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kala/Desha (Adverbial/काल-देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (adverb; ‘then/from that’)

• तीक्ष्ण: sharp
• तीक्ष्ण: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीक्ष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (शृङ्गम्)

• शृङ्गम्: a horn/peak
• शृङ्गम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शृङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हिमगिरिप्रभम्: having the splendor of the Himālaya mountain
• हिमगिरिप्रभम्: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हिम-गिरि-प्रभ (प्रातिपदिक; हिम + गिरि + प्रभ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (शृङ्गम्); तत्पुरुषः (हिमगिरेः प्रभा यस्य)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Himālaya (allusive)

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Attendant beings merge into Śiva’s adornments; the Wind-gods, personified as swift luminous figures, forge or present a sharp-pointed horn gleaming like snowy Himālaya peaks.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Vāyavaḥ (Wind-gods)
• Himagiri (Himālaya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True devotion expresses itself as loving service—here, even the gods become ‘ornaments’ to honor Śiva, showing that surrender is the highest embellishment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it uses Himālaya (Himagiri) as sacred imagery associated with Śiva’s majesty.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse models deva-sevā (reverential service) through symbolic adornment.