Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

किं वा वराहदंष्ट्राग्रघातैः पंचत्वमागतः । मधुलोभेन वृक्षाग्रात्स वै प्रपतितो भुवि

Transliteration

kiṃ vā varāhadaṃṣṭrāgraghātaiḥ paṃcatvamāgataḥ | madhulobhena vṛkṣāgrātsa vai prapatito bhuvi

Translation

Oder fand er den Tod durch die Schläge der Spitzen der Eberhauer? Oder stürzte er, gierig nach Honig, vom Wipfel eines Baumes zur Erde?

Word by Word

• किम्: what?
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (interrogative pronoun)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (or)

• वराहदंष्ट्राग्रघातैः: by blows from the tip of a boar’s tusk
• वराहदंष्ट्राग्रघातैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varāha (प्रातिपदिक) + daṃṣṭrā (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक) + ghāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (वराहस्य दंष्ट्रायाः अग्रेण घाताः), पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (instrumental plural)

• पंचत्वम्: death (lit. becoming ‘five’)
• पंचत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃcatva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (accusative singular; state of being ‘five’ i.e., death)

• आगतः: has come to / has reached
• आगतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+गम् (धातु) → āgata (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्तरि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (past active participle: having reached)

• मधुलोभेन: by greed for honey
• मधुलोभेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhu (प्रातिपदिक) + lobha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (मधुनः लोभः), पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (instrumental singular)

• वृक्षाग्रात्: from the top of a tree
• वृक्षाग्रात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (वृक्षस्य अग्रः), पञ्चमी, एकवचन (ablative singular)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (pronoun: he)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• प्रपतितः: fell down
• प्रपतितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+पत् (धातु) → prapatita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्तरि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (fallen down)

• भुवि: on the ground
• भुवि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuvi/bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative singular)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Purāṇic audience within the frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The woman imagines two more deaths: gored by a boar’s tusks, or falling from a tree while greedily seeking honey; the forest becomes a theatre of karmic consequence.

Characters & Entities

• Boar (varāha)
• Honey (madhu)
• Tree (vṛkṣa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Attachment and greed can drive one into danger; Purāṇic storytelling uses such images to caution and redirect toward dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not explicit in this verse; the overarching frame is the Kedāra sacred narrative within Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.