Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

त्वद्वाक्यतीक्ष्णधारेण कुठारेण क्षयं व्रजेत् । अपवर्गपथव्यापी मूढसंसर्गसेचनः

Transliteration

tvadvākyatīkṣṇadhāreṇa kuṭhāreṇa kṣayaṃ vrajet | apavargapathavyāpī mūḍhasaṃsargasecanaḥ

Translation

May the watering of my folly—born of keeping company with the deluded—be cut down and brought to ruin by the axe whose keen edge is your instruction, so that the path to liberation (apavarga, mokṣa) may be cleared and spread before me.

Word by Word

• tvad: your
• tvad: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-सम्बन्धार्थे (genitival relation) अव्ययवत् पूर्वपद-रूपेण (as prior member)

• vākya: speech; statement
• vākya: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; समासपूर्वपद-रूपेण

• tīkṣṇadhāreṇa: with a sharp edge
• tīkṣṇadhāreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīkṣṇa + dhārā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• kuṭhāreṇa: with an axe
• kuṭhāreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṭhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• kṣayam: destruction; end
• kṣayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• vrajet: may go; may reach
• vrajet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vraj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• apavargapathavyāpī: pervading the path to liberation
• apavargapathavyāpī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apavarga + patha + vyāpin (प्रातिपदिक; √vyāp (धातु) से)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• mūḍhasaṃsargasecanaḥ: watering (nourishment) of foolish association
• mūḍhasaṃsargasecanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūḍha + saṃsarga + secana (प्रातिपदिक; √sic (धातु) से)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context: likely a narrator voice in Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa-style narration, quoting a devotee/speaker)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic forest of weeds labeled ‘mūḍha-saṅga’ is being chopped by a radiant axe formed from the guru’s words; a clear road emerges leading toward a luminous gateway marked ‘apavarga’.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A guru’s incisive instruction can destroy the habits and delusions nourished by bad company, opening the way to liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the emphasis is ethical and soteriological (liberation through right guidance).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; the practice implied is seeking and accepting disciplined instruction (upadeśa) and avoiding misguided association.