Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

मृगव्याधाय धर्माय कालचक्राय चक्रिणे । महापुरुषपूज्याय गणानां पतये नमः

Transliteration

mṛgavyādhāya dharmāya kālacakrāya cakriṇe | mahāpuruṣapūjyāya gaṇānāṃ pataye namaḥ

Translation

Ehrerbietung dem Jäger (der den Hirsch des Geistes verfolgt), dem Dharma selbst; dem Rad der Zeit und seinem Lenker; dem von den Großen Verehrten; Gaṇapati, dem Herrn der Gaṇas, sei Verehrung.

Word by Word

• मृगव्याधाय: to the hunter of deer
• मृगव्याधाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृग + व्याध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मृगाणां व्याधः = ‘मृगों का शिकारी’)

• धर्माय: to Dharma
• धर्माय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• कालचक्राय: to the wheel of time
• कालचक्राय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल + चक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कालस्य चक्रम् = ‘काल का चक्र’)

• चक्रिणे: to the wielder of the discus/wheel
• चक्रिणे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; -इन्-प्रातिपदिक

• महापुरुषपूज्याय: to the one worshipped by great persons
• महापुरुषपूज्याय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महā + पुरुष + पूज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (महापुरुषैः पूज्यः = ‘महापुरुषों द्वारा पूजनीय’)

• गणानाम्: of the gaṇas (attendants)
• गणानाम्: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• पतये: to the lord
• पतये: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Prayojana (Salutation/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: निपात/अव्यय (salutatory particle)

Speaker

Unspecified (stotra voice within Tīrthamāhātmya narration; attributed to the hymn-reciter in the chapter)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva as cosmic hunter and time-lord: a deer (symbolic mind) in the foreground, a wheel of time behind, gaṇas assembled in reverence; sages (‘mahāpuruṣas’) offer worship.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Kāla (Time)
• Gaṇas
• Gaṇapati (as 'lord of gaṇas' epithet of Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is the regulator of time and dharma, and the inner ‘hunter’ who subdues restless tendencies, making pilgrimage a discipline of transformation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is within a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter, but this line alone does not specify the site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a praise-verse suited for recitation during darśana and tīrtha-yātrā.