Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

महादेव उवाच । पितरं कथयाशु त्वं स्थितः कुत्र शुभानने । द्रक्ष्यामि तं विशालाक्षि प्रणिपातपुरःसरम्

Transliteration

mahādeva uvāca | pitaraṃ kathayāśu tvaṃ sthitaḥ kutra śubhānane | drakṣyāmi taṃ viśālākṣi praṇipātapuraḥsaram

Translation

Mahādeva sprach: „Sage mir sogleich, wo dein Vater weilt, o Schönangesichtige. O Weitblickende, ich werde hingehen, ihn zu sehen, und zuvor ehrfürchtig niederfallen.“

Word by Word

• mahādevaḥ: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• mahādevaḥ: Karta (Speaker/वक्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (महा) + deva (देव)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• pitaram: (your) father
• pitaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (पितृ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• kathaya: tell
• kathaya: Kriya (Command/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (कथ् धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative); मध्यमपुरुष (2nd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• āśu: quickly
• āśu: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: āśu (आशु अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (quickly)

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (युष्मद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• sthitaḥ: is staying/situated
• sthitaḥ: Karta (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (स्था धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘being situated’

• kutra: where
• kutra: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Interrogative adverb/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutra (कुत्र अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय; देशवाचक (where?)

• śubhānane: O fair-faced one
• śubhānane: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śubha (शुभ) + ānana (आनन)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• drakṣyāmi: I will see
• drakṣyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple future); उत्तमपुरुष (1st), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• viśālākṣi: O wide-eyed one
• viśālākṣi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśāla (विशाल) + akṣi (अक्षि)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (‘विशाले अक्षिणी यस्याः सा’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• praṇipāta-puraḥsaram: preceded by prostration
• praṇipāta-puraḥsaram: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: praṇipāta (प्रणिपात) + puraḥsara (पुरःसर)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारय/उपपद-भाव: ‘प्रणिपातः पुरः यस्य’ = preceded by prostration); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (manner)

Speaker

Śiva (Mahādeva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kailāsa (mythic axis for Kedāra)

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mahādeva speaks gently, asking where the father resides, declaring he will go to meet him with prostration first.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Mahādeva)
• Śabarī
• Śabarī's father (unnamed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Greatness is shown through humility: even Mahādeva honors dharmic protocol with respectful obeisance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra’s narrative frame presents dharma and devotion as the living glory of the Kedāra region in the Skanda Purana.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The act of praṇipāta (reverent prostration) is explicitly mentioned as the proper approach in a dharmic request.