Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

यम उवाच । यदि मे वांछितं देव ददासि तर्हि शंकर । अस्मिन्स्थाने महाक्षेत्रे मन्नामा भव सर्वदा

Transliteration

yama uvāca | yadi me vāṃchitaṃ deva dadāsi tarhi śaṃkara | asminsthāne mahākṣetre mannāmā bhava sarvadā

Translation

Yama said: “If You grant my cherished wish, O God—O Śaṅkara—then in this place, this great sacred kṣetra, let my name abide forever.”

Word by Word

• यमः: Yama
• यमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Clause linker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional particle)

• मे: to me / for me
• मे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचन (Genitive/Dative singular; enclitic)

• वाञ्छितम्: the desired (boon/thing)
• वाञ्छितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाञ्छित (कृदन्त; √वाञ्छ्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; ‘desired (thing)’

• देव: O god
• देव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• ददासि: you give
• ददासि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• तर्हि: then
• तर्हि: Sambandha (Discourse adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तर्हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (then/thereupon)

• शंकर: O Śaṅkara
• शंकर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; विशेषण (to ‘sthāne’)

• स्थाने: place
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• महाक्षेत्रे: in the great sacred field
• महाक्षेत्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाक्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक: महा + क्षेत्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• मत्-नाम: named after me
• मत्-नाम: Karta (Predicate nominal/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मत् (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक) + नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; ‘whose name is mine’ इति विशेषण (to implied ‘kṣetra/ sthāna’)

• भव: become / be
• भव: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• सर्वदा: always
• सर्वदा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Yama

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya (requested to bear Yama’s name)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yama, dignified and restrained, petitions Śaṅkara: ‘Let my name abide here forever’; the kṣetra is shown as a vast sacred grove with a central liṅga or luminous axis.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Mahākṣetra (great holy field)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places become enduring centers of merit when sanctioned by divine will and upheld by dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Mahākṣetra identified as Dharmāraṇya (Dharmāraṇyakhaṇḍa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific ritual is prescribed; the focus is on establishing the site’s enduring sacred identity (nāma-khyāti).