Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

ततो हिडंबातनयो महौजाः सूर्याक्षकालाक्षमहोदरानुगः । वियत्पथं प्राप्य जगाम तत्पुरं प्राग्ज्योतिषं नाम दिनव्यपाये

Transliteration

tato hiḍaṃbātanayo mahaujāḥ sūryākṣakālākṣamahodarānugaḥ | viyatpathaṃ prāpya jagāma tatpuraṃ prāgjyotiṣaṃ nāma dinavyapāye

Translation

Then the mighty son of Hiḍimbā—accompanied by Sūryākṣa, Kālākṣa, and Mahodara—took to the path of the sky and, at day’s close, went to the city called Prāgjyotiṣa.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तदर्थे (thereupon/then)

• हिडम्बातनयः: son of Hiḍambā
• हिडम्बातनयः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिडम्बा (प्रातिपदिक) + तनय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (हिडम्बायाः तनयः)

• महौजाः: of great vigor
• महौजाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक) + ओजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (महत् ओजः यस्य) विशेषणार्थे

• सूर्याक्षकालाक्षमहोदरानुगः: follower of Sūryākṣa, Kālākṣa and Mahodara
• सूर्याक्षकालाक्षमहोदरानुगः: Viśeṣaṇa (Appositional qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्याक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + कालाक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + महोदर (प्रातिपदिक) + अनुग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (सूर्याक्ष-कालाक्ष-महोदर-नामकानाम् अनुगः = follower/attendant)

• वियत्पथम्: the sky-path, aerial route
• वियत्पथम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वियत् (प्रातिपदिक) + पथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (वियतः पथः)

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) + ल्यप्
• Form: ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having reached)

• जगाम: went
• जगाम: Kriyā
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तत्पुरम्: to that city
• तत्पुरम्: Karma (Destination as object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (तस्य पुरम्)

• प्राग्ज्योतिषम्: Prāgjyotiṣa (city-name)
• प्राग्ज्योतिषम्: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition to तत्पुरम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राक् (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) + ज्योतिष् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (प्राक्-ज्योतिष् = name of city)

• नाम: named
• नाम: Nāmanirdeśa (Naming particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामनिर्देशक (particle meaning 'named/called')

• दिनव्यपाये: at the end of the day
• दिनव्यपाये: Adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक) + व्यपाय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (दिनस्य व्यपायः = day’s end/decline)

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition in Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prāgjyotiṣa (Prāgjyotiṣapura)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ghaṭotkaca (son of Hiḍimbā), mighty and formidable, flies through the sky with companions Sūryākṣa, Kālākṣa, Mahodara; below, forests and rivers fade as dusk approaches; ahead rises the city of Prāgjyotiṣa with ramparts and glowing lamps.

Characters & Entities

• Hiḍimbā
• Sūryākṣa
• Kālākṣa
• Mahodara
• Prāgjyotiṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic journeys often signal a shift into a new sacred setting where karmic consequences and dharmic encounters unfold.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse names the city Prāgjyotiṣa; it is a geographic marker rather than an explicit tīrtha-praise passage here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None—this is a travel/narrative transition verse.