Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

प्रहस्य भगवान्नंदी ब्रह्माणं वै ह्युवाच ह । क्व यूयं क्व शिवः शंभुस्तपसा परमेण हि । द्रष्टव्यो हृदि मध्यस्थः सोऽद्य द्रष्टुं न पार्यते

Transliteration

prahasya bhagavānnaṃdī brahmāṇaṃ vai hyuvāca ha | kva yūyaṃ kva śivaḥ śaṃbhustapasā parameṇa hi | draṣṭavyo hṛdi madhyasthaḥ so'dya draṣṭuṃ na pāryate

Translation

Sonriendo, el bienaventurado Nandī dijo a Brahmā: «¿Qué sois vosotros—y qué es Śiva, Śambhu? Él se contempla mediante la austeridad suprema, morando en el centro mismo del corazón; y, sin embargo, hoy no podéis verle».

Word by Word

• prahasya: having laughed
• prahasya: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√has (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः; धातु: प्र√हस् (to laugh), अर्थः: ‘हसित्वा/प्रहस्य’

• bhagavān: the revered one
• bhagavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• nandī: Nandin
• nandī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nandī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• brahmāṇam: Brahmā
• brahmāṇam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अवधानार्थ/एवकारार्थ

• hi: for/indeed
• hi: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ha: (emphatic particle)
• ha: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ha (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), कथनानुवादक/इतिवृत्तसूचक

• kva: where
• kva: Interrogative (प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रश्नवाचक अव्यय (interrogative adverb of place)

• yūyam: you (all)
• yūyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, बहुवचन, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative)

• kva: where
• kva: Interrogative (प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रश्नवाचक अव्यय

• śivaḥ: Śiva
• śivaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• śaṃbhuḥ: Śambhu
• śaṃbhuḥ: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃbhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; शिवस्य नाम

• tapasā: by austerity
• tapasā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• parameṇa: supreme
• parameṇa: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (tapasā)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• draṣṭavyaḥ: is to be seen / should be seen
• draṣṭavyaḥ: Predicate (विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive/future passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘द्रष्टव्यः’ = ‘द्रष्टुं योग्यः/द्रष्टव्यः’

• hṛdi: in the heart
• hṛdi: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛd (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• madhyasthaḥ: situated in the middle
• madhyasthaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madhya + stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषार्थः (मध्यस्थः = मध्ये स्थितः)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• adya: today/now
• adya: Kāla (Time adjunct/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

• draṣṭum: to see
• draṣṭum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), अव्यय; ‘द्रष्टुम्’ = ‘दर्शनार्थम्’

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• pāryate: is possible / can be managed
• pāryate: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/शक्यतार्थे प्रयोगः (‘पार्यते’ = ‘शक्यते/समर्थ्यते’)

Speaker

Nandī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra/Kedāranātha kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brahmā (and implicitly the assembled devas/ṛṣis)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nandin, smiling yet firm, addresses Brahmā with a teaching gesture; a Himalayan Shaiva setting implied, with the sense of Śiva dwelling invisibly in the heart rather than as a visible form.

Characters & Entities

• Nandī
• Brahmā
• Śiva
• Śambhu
• Heart (Hṛd)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is realized through inner purity and intense discipline; external status cannot guarantee darśana without tapas and inwardness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse emphasizes inner Kedāra—Śiva in the heart—while situated within the Kedārakhaṇḍa that celebrates Kedāra as Śiva’s domain.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Parama-tapas (supreme austerity) and heart-centered contemplation are indicated as the means to Śiva-darśana.