Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

गृहकार्यं परित्यज्य चेरुस्तद्गतमानसाः । गतासु तासु सर्वासु पत्नीषु ऋषिसत्तमाः

Transliteration

gṛhakāryaṃ parityajya cerustadgatamānasāḥ | gatāsu tāsu sarvāsu patnīṣu ṛṣisattamāḥ

Translation

Sie gaben die Hausarbeiten auf und zogen weiter, den Geist auf Ihn gerichtet. Und als all jene Frauen fortgegangen waren, kehrten die erhabensten Weisen (zurück) und fanden sie verschwunden.

Word by Word

• गृहकार्यं: household work
• गृहकार्यं: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृहकार्य (प्रातिपदिक) = गृह + कार्य
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (गृहस्य कार्यम्)

• परित्यज्य: having abandoned
• परित्यज्य: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘having abandoned’

• चेरुः: they wandered/went about
• चेरुः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• तद्गतमानसाः: whose minds were fixed on that
• तद्गतमानसाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद्गतमानस (प्रातिपदिक) = तद् + गत + मानस
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्; तत्पुरुष-समासः (तस्मिन् गतं मनः येषाम्)

• गतासु: when (they) had gone / in the gone (ones)
• गतासु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गता (प्रातिपदिक; √गम् क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त-विशेषणम्

• तासु: in those (women)
• तासु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• सर्वासु: in all
• सर्वासु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• पत्नीषु: among the wives
• पत्नीषु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), बहुवचन

• ऋषिसत्तमाः: the best of sages
• ऋषिसत्तमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषिसत्तम (प्रातिपदिक) = ऋषि + सत्तम
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (ऋषयः सत्तमाः)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra/Kedārakṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of women leave household tasks behind, walking with absorbed faces and inward focus, moving toward a distant, radiant ascetic Śiva amid Himalayan terrain; behind them, the hermitage sits quiet.

Characters & Entities

• ṛṣisattamāḥ (great sages)
• patnīḥ (wives)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Single-pointed devotion can overpower ordinary routines, setting the stage for dharma to be tested and clarified.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra (Kedāra-khaṇḍa setting), as part of Śiva’s līlā connected to the sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse narrates conduct and its consequences rather than prescribing a rite.