Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

पावकः सर्वभक्षित्वात्तथान्ये देवतागणाः । अशक्ता रावणं जेतुं तपसा च विजृंभितम्

Transliteration

pāvakaḥ sarvabhakṣitvāttathānye devatāgaṇāḥ | aśaktā rāvaṇaṃ jetuṃ tapasā ca vijṛṃbhitam

Translation

Pāvaka (das Feuer), weil er alles verzehrt, und ebenso die übrigen Scharen der Götter, vermochten Rāvaṇa nicht zu besiegen, der durch Askese mächtig und weit geworden war.

Word by Word

• pāvakaḥ: Fire-god (Pāvaka/Agni)
• pāvakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāvaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• sarva-bhakṣitvāt: because of (his) consuming everything
• sarva-bhakṣitvāt: Hetu/Reason (कारण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣitva (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भाव from √bhakṣ (धातु) with -ita + -tva)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular); हेतौ पञ्चमी (ablative of cause)

• tathā: likewise/so
• tathā: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः—क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• anye: other
• anye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण (qualifying)

• devatā-gaṇāḥ: groups of deities
• devatā-gaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• aśaktāḥ: unable
• aśaktāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-śakta (प्रातिपदिक; नञ्-समास/उपसर्ग a- + śakta)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषण

• rāvaṇam: Rāvaṇa
• rāvaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• jetum: to conquer
• jetum: Prayojana (Purpose/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ji (धातु) + तुमुन् (infinitive)
• Form: कृदन्त; तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (infinitive), प्रयोजन/उद्देश्य (purpose)

• tapasā: by austerity
• tapasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction/particle)

• vijṛmbhitam: expanded/empowered (by penance)
• vijṛmbhitam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + √jṛmbh (धातु) + क्त (past passive participle)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मणि-भूतकृदन्त, विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedārakṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (typical; not stated in excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A council of anxious devas, with Agni (Pāvaka) prominent, acknowledging inability to subdue the towering, tapas-empowered Rāvaṇa; stormy Himalayan backdrop hinting Kedāra’s frame.

Characters & Entities

• Pāvaka (Agni)
• Rāvaṇa
• Devatāgaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity can generate formidable power; without alignment to dharma and Śiva’s grace, even the gods may be thwarted.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is narrative; within Kedārakhaṇḍa it indirectly magnifies the need to approach Śiva associated with Kedāra for protection and order.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; tapas (austerity) is referenced as the source of Rāvaṇa’s strength.