Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 127

Devanagari script

ततोऽसौ तेन संयुक्तो बकेन सुमहात्मना । मार्कंडेयेन संप्राप्तः कैलासं पर्वतोत्तमम्

Transliteration

tato'sau tena saṃyukto bakena sumahātmanā | mārkaṃḍeyena saṃprāptaḥ kailāsaṃ parvatottamam

Translation

Daraufhin erreichte er, begleitet von dem großherzigen Baka und von Mārkaṇḍeya, den Kailāsa – den erhabensten der Berge.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): तस्मात्/ततः = 'then, thereafter'

• asau: he (that person)
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• tena: with him / by him
• tena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; instrumental 'with/by him'

• saṃyuktaḥ: joined, accompanied
• saṃyuktaḥ: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃ-yuj (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; 'joined/associated'

• bakena: with Baka
• bakena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: baka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; instrumental

• su-mahātmanā: with the very great-souled (one)
• su-mahātmanā: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + mahātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; विशेषण; समास: सु + महात्मन् (intensifying)

• mārkaṃḍeyena: by/with Mārkaṇḍeya
• mārkaṃḍeyena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṃḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; instrumental

• saṃprāptaḥ: arrived, reached
• saṃprāptaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-pra-āp (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP) used verbally; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; 'having reached/arrived'

• kailāsam: Kailāsa
• kailāsam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kailāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (object of 'reached')

• parvatottamam: the best of mountains
• parvatottamam: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parvata (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण; समास: पर्वतानाम् उत्तमः (श्रेष्ठः)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator, implied)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kailāsa

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Processional arrival: the traveler, with the great-souled Baka and sage Mārkaṇḍeya, reaches the majestic Kailāsa—snowy, radiant, and awe-inspiring.

Characters & Entities

• Baka
• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Kailāsa
• Indradyumna (implied: 'asau')

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy destinations and saintly companionship can transform a death-bound resolve into a path of renewal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mount Kailāsa is explicitly praised as “parvatottama,” the foremost mountain.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates pilgrimage/arrival at a sacred place.