Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 183

Devanagari script

शशिखंडधरं चैव रुण्डमालाप्रधारकम् । समं चैव स्थितस्तेषां दर्शने शंकरः प्रभुः

Transliteration

śaśikhaṃḍadharaṃ caiva ruṇḍamālāpradhārakam | samaṃ caiva sthitasteṣāṃ darśane śaṃkaraḥ prabhuḥ

Translation

Als er jene Rudra-Gestalten schaute—die eine mit der Mondsichel als Stirnschmuck, die andere mit einer Girlande abgetrennter Häupter—stand der Herr Śaṅkara vor ihnen, allen gleich und unbewegt in seiner Schau.

Word by Word

• śaśi-khaṇḍa-dharam: bearing the moon-fragment
• śaśi-khaṇḍa-dharam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaśin (प्रातिपदिक) + khaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (शशिनः खण्डं धरति)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

• ruṇḍa-mālā-pradhārakam: wearing a garland of heads
• ruṇḍa-mālā-pradhārakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ruṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + mālā (प्रातिपदिक) + pradhāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (रुण्डमालां प्रधारयति)

• samam: equally
• samam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-प्रयोगः; क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative: 'equally')

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

• sthitaḥ: standing/remaining
• sthitaḥ: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; लट्-अर्थे स्थितः (is standing)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• darśane: in/at the sight (seeing)
• darśane: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• śaṃkaraḥ: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• śaṃkaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• prabhuḥ: the Lord
• prabhuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; उपपद-विशेष्य (appositional)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; within Sūta’s narration in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ṛṣayaḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two prominent Rudra forms appear: one serene with crescent moon on the matted locks; another fierce, adorned with a garland of severed heads. Between/behind them stands Śaṅkara, steady and impartial, radiating equal regard.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva embodies perfect equanimity—remaining steady and equal-minded even before awe-inspiring and fierce divine manifestations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this verse; it is a descriptive theological moment within the Rudra-manifestation narrative.