Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

क्व कालकूटं सुमहद्येन विद्राविता वयम् । मृतप्रायाः कृताः सद्यः सलोकपालका ह्यमी

Transliteration

kva kālakūṭaṃ sumahadyena vidrāvitā vayam | mṛtaprāyāḥ kṛtāḥ sadyaḥ salokapālakā hyamī

Translation

„Wo ist nun jenes schreckliche, übermächtige Kālakūṭa-Gift, durch das wir—zusammen mit den Weltenhütern—vertrieben und augenblicklich dem Tode nahegebracht wurden?“

Word by Word

• kva: where?
• kva: Sambandha (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्ययम् (interrogative adverb: where?)

• kālakūṭam: Kālakūṭa poison
• kālakūṭam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + kūṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘kālaṃ kūṭam’/विशेष-नाम; here as nominative/accusative neuter singular (the poison Kālakūṭa)

• sumahat: very great
• sumahat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय-पूर्वपद) + mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘very great’; agrees with kālakūṭam

• yena: by which
• yena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; relative pronoun; Instrumental singular (by which)

• vidrāvitāḥ: driven away, made to flee
• vidrāvitāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vidrāvita (कृदन्त; vi-√dru/√drā (धातु) + णिच् + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; causative PPP ‘made to flee/driven away’; Nominative plural masculine

• vayam: we
• vayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; Nominative plural (we)

• mṛtaprāyāḥ: almost dead
• mṛtaprāyāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त; √mṛ (धातु) + क्त) + prāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; ‘mṛta-prāya’ = almost dead; Nominative plural masculine

• kṛtāḥ: made (to be)
• kṛtāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त; √kṛ (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; PPP ‘made’; Nominative plural masculine

• sadyaḥ: immediately
• sadyaḥ: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (immediately)

• sa: with
• sa: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (अव्यय-पूर्वपद)
• Form: ‘स-’ = सहित (with); compound prefix

• lokapālakāḥ: world-guardians
• lokapālakāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + pālaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; ‘lokān pālayanti’/‘lokasya pālakāḥ’ इति तत्पुरुषः; Nominative plural masculine

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः (emphatic/causal particle)

• amī: these (ones)
• amī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; demonstrative pronoun; Nominative plural masculine

Speaker

Daityas (addressing the situation; narrative voice within Kedārakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Frame-audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devas and lokapālas, still shaken, look around searching for the dreadful poison cloud that had nearly killed them; the space is now clear, emphasizing absence as miracle.

Characters & Entities

• Kālakūṭa
• Lokapālas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly powers—even the Lokapālas—can be overwhelmed; true refuge is sought beyond mere strength.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra/Kedāranātha kṣetra (Kedārakhaṇḍa context), where refuge in Śiva is emphasized.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a narrative lament setting up surrender and praise.