Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 114

Devanagari script

मायायाम च प्रनष्टायां ततो जंभो महासुरः । चकार रूपमतुलं चंद्रादित्यपदानुगम्

Transliteration

māyāyāma ca pranaṣṭāyāṃ tato jaṃbho mahāsuraḥ | cakāra rūpamatulaṃ caṃdrādityapadānugam

Translation

When that illusion had been destroyed, then Jambha, the great Asura, assumed an incomparable form, vast enough to match the course of the Moon and the Sun.

Word by Word

• māyāyām: when/while the māyā (illusion)
• māyāyām: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/and)

• pranaṣṭāyām: having vanished
• pranaṣṭāyām: Sati-saptamī (Locative absolute/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-naś (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘having perished/vanished’ (locative absolute with māyāyām)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

• jaṃbhaḥ: Jambha
• jaṃbhaḥ: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaṃbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• mahāsuraḥ: the great demon
• mahāsuraḥ: Kartā (Apposition/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + asura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (महान् असुरः)

• cakāra: made, assumed
• cakāra: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• rūpam: form
• rūpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• atulam: incomparable
• atulam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: atula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (rūpam इति)

• caṃdrādityapadānugam: matching the station/brightness of moon and sun
• caṃdrādityapadānugam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caṃdra + āditya + pada + anuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (rūpam इति); समासः—तत्पुरुष (चन्द्रादित्ययोः पदम्/स्थानम् अनुगच्छति इति)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) narrating to the sages (contextual attribution within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Jambha, no longer masked by illusion, swells into a colossal form spanning the paths of the Moon and Sun, casting a shadow over the battlefield and dimming the sky.

Characters & Entities

• Jambha
• Candra (Moon)
• Āditya (Sun)
• Māyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When one tactic fails, adharma may expand its intimidation—yet sheer magnitude is not the measure of truth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is praised; the verse describes an Asura’s cosmic enlargement in war.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.