Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 136

Devanagari script

कुठारैश्ठेदनं तीव्रं वल्कलानां च तक्षणम् । पर्णशखाफलानां च पातनं चंडवायुना

Transliteration

kuṭhāraiśṭhedanaṃ tīvraṃ valkalānāṃ ca takṣaṇam | parṇaśakhāphalānāṃ ca pātanaṃ caṃḍavāyunā

Translation

There is the fierce cutting by axes, the stripping away of bark, and the falling of leaves, branches, and fruits driven down by violent winds.

Word by Word

• कुठारैः: with axes
• कुठारैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुठार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; Instrumental plural

• छेदनम्: cutting
• छेदनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: छिद् (धातु) + ल्युट् → छेदन (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; action-noun (cutting)

• तीव्रम्: severe, intense
• तीव्रम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीव्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; agrees with छेदनम्

• वल्कलानाम्: of barks
• वल्कलानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वल्कल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Genitive plural

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• तक्षणम्: chopping, hewing
• तक्षणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तक्ष् (धातु) + ल्युट् → तक्षण (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; action-noun (hewing/chopping)

• पर्णशाखाफलानाम्: of leaves, branches, and fruits
• पर्णशाखाफलानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + शाखा (प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (समाहार-द्वन्द्व), षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Genitive plural

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• पातनम्: making fall, felling
• पातनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत् (धातु) + णिच् (causative) + ल्युट् → पातन (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; action-noun (causing to fall)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• चण्डवायुना: by the fierce wind
• चण्डवायुना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + वायु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Instrumental singular

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mother (Pārvatī/Umā)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dense forest where woodcutters swing axes into trees; bark is stripped; a violent windstorm drives down leaves, branches, and fruits, creating a sense of relentless natural and human-caused injury.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even seemingly insentient life is subject to injury and loss, underscoring the pervasive hardship of embodied existence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is referenced in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a depiction of worldly suffering.