Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

विना तेन जगत्सर्वं नाशमेष्यति शंकर । निष्कामस्त्वं कथं शंभो स्वबुद्ध्या च विमृस्यताम्

Transliteration

vinā tena jagatsarvaṃ nāśameṣyati śaṃkara | niṣkāmastvaṃ kathaṃ śaṃbho svabuddhyā ca vimṛsyatām

Translation

Ohne ihn, o Śaṅkara, wird die ganze Welt dem Untergang entgegengehen. O Śambhu, obgleich Du wunschlos bist, erwäge dies mit Deiner eigenen Weisheit.

Word by Word

• vinā: without
• vinā: Avyaya (Relation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्गार्थक-अव्यय/पूर्वपद (preposition-like indeclinable)

• tena: with him/with that
• tena: Sahakāri/Instrument (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• jagat: the world
• jagat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• sarvam: entire, all
• sarvam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (jagat)

• nāśam: destruction
• nāśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• eṣyati: will go/come to, will reach
• eṣyati: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √i (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śaṃkara: O Śaṅkara
• śaṃkara: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• niṣkāmaḥ: desireless
• niṣkāmaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niṣkāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (tvam)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा, एकवचन; मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम

• katham: how?
• katham: Avyaya (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• śaṃbho: O Śambhu
• śaṃbho: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃbhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• sva-buddhyā: by (your) own understanding
• sva-buddhyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + buddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (स्वा बुद्धिः)

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• vimṛśyatām: please consider, reflect
• vimṛśyatām: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√mṛś (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; आज्ञार्थे ‘let it be considered/please consider’

Speaker

Devas

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The devas warn Śaṅkara that without Kāma the world collapses; they implore the desireless Lord to deliberate with his own wisdom.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Śaṅkara/Śambhu)
• Kāmadeva (implied)
• Devas
• Jagat (the world)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Detachment (niṣkāmatā) is supreme, yet the world’s maintenance requires rightly ordered forces within dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kedāra-region narrative context; no particular tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is counsel and theological reasoning addressed to Śiva.