Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 164

Devanagari script

इति कथितमशेषं श्रेयसामादिबीजं भवशतदुरितघ्नं ध्वस्तमोहांधकारम् । चरितममरगेयं मन्मथारेरुदारं सततमपि निषेव्यं स्वस्तिमद्भिश्च लोकैः

Transliteration

iti kathitamaśeṣaṃ śreyasāmādibījaṃ bhavaśataduritaghnaṃ dhvastamohāṃdhakāram | caritamamarageyaṃ manmathārerudāraṃ satatamapi niṣevyaṃ svastimadbhiśca lokaiḥ

Translation

Thus has been fully related the primal seed of all true welfare—destroyer of the sins of hundreds of births and dispeller of the darkness of delusion: the noble deed of Śiva, the Foe of Manmatha, sung by the gods, ever to be cherished and practiced by the righteous.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उक्त्यर्थे (thus)

• kathitam: told / narrated
• kathitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √kath (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण (that which is told)

• aśeṣam: entire, without remainder
• aśeṣam: Karma (Qualifier of object/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण

• śreyasām: of auspicious benefits
• śreyasām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śreyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन

• ādi-bījam: the primal seed
• ādi-bījam: Karma (Apposition to kathitam/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + bīja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष (श्रेयसाम् आदिः बीजम्)

• bhava-śata-durita-ghnam: destroyer of sins of hundreds of births
• bhava-śata-durita-ghnam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक) + durita (प्रातिपदिक) + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (भवशतानां दुरितानां घ्नम्); विशेषण

• dhvasta-moha-andhakāram: that in which the darkness of delusion is destroyed
• dhvasta-moha-andhakāram: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhvasta (कृदन्त) + moha (प्रातिपदिक) + andhakāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (मोहान्धकारः ध्वस्तः यस्मात्/येन); विशेषण

• caritam: the sacred narrative/deeds
• caritam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: carita (कृदन्त; √car)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; भाव/कर्मणि-क्त (deed, life-story)

• amara-geyam: to be sung by the gods
• amara-geyam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amara (प्रातिपदिक) + geya (कृदन्त; √gai)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (अमरैः गेयं); विशेषण

• manmatha-areḥ: of the foe of Manmatha (Śiva)
• manmatha-areḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manmatha (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (मन्मथस्य अरिः = शिवः)

• udāram: noble, exalted
• udāram: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: udāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण

• satatam: always
• satatam: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषण-प्रयोग (adverbial accusative: always/continually)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-कार (even/also)

• niṣevyam: to be practiced/served
• niṣevyam: Karma (Predicate adjective of caritam/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ni-√sev (धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्/अनीयर्-अर्थक (gerundive: “to be resorted to”); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन

• svastimadbhiḥ: by the blessed/prosperous
• svastimadbhiḥ: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive sense/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svastimat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचन; विशेषण (prosperous/fortunate)

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

• lokaiḥ: by people
• lokaiḥ: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive sense/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextually Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Purāṇic frame)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic hymn-scene: devas in a semicircle singing Śiva’s noble deed; Śiva as ‘Manmathāri’ serene yet radiant, with crescent moon and gaṅgā in hair; darkness of ignorance shown as a dissolving shadow behind devotees; a manuscript or palm-leaf text symbolizing the narrated carita.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Manmathāri)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hearing and internalizing Śiva’s sacred deeds becomes a seed of śreyas—purifying karma across births and dissolving delusion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse functions as a general phalaśruti; the immediately preceding narrative context (ending of the adhyāya) frames the associated tīrtha, but the verse itself highlights Śiva’s carita rather than naming a site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A devotional prescription is implied: to ‘constantly resort to’ (niṣevyam) the teaching—i.e., regular listening/recitation, remembrance, and dhārmic practice aligned with it.