Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

मया चाहूयमानेभ्यः प्रलयानंतरं पुनः । यत्पादसेविविप्रेभ्यो वेदाध्ययनसंग्रहः

Transliteration

mayā cāhūyamānebhyaḥ pralayānaṃtaraṃ punaḥ | yatpādaseviviprebhyo vedādhyayanasaṃgrahaḥ

Translation

Et après la dissolution, lorsque je les rappelle de nouveau, des brahmanes voués au service de ses pieds sont rassemblés à nouveau les Veda et leur étude.

Word by Word

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (Agent in passive sense/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; तृतीया-एकवचनम् (Instrumental singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• āhūyamānebhyaḥ: from those who were being summoned
• āhūyamānebhyaḥ: Apādāna (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā√hū (धातु) → āhūyamāna (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्तः (शानच्/मान) ‘आहूयमान’ = ‘being summoned’; पञ्चमी-बहुवचनम् (Ablative plural) / दत्तिव-बहुवचनम् (Dative plural) रूपसाम्यं; अत्र पञ्चमी (from those being summoned) अधिकयुक्तम्; पुंलिङ्गे (विप्र-आदि)

• pralaya-anantaram: immediately after dissolution
• pralaya-anantaram: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverbial/कालवाचक)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pralaya (प्रातिपदिक) + anantara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) ‘प्रलयस्य अनन्तरम्’; नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-एकवचनम् (Accusative singular) क्रियाविशेषणभावे (adverbial)

• punaḥ: again
• punaḥ: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; पुनरावृत्त्यर्थक-अव्ययम् (adverb: again)

• yat-pāda-sevi-viprebhyaḥ: from the Brahmins who serve his feet
• yat-pāda-sevi-viprebhyaḥ: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + pāda (प्रातिपदिक) + sevin (प्रातिपदिक) + vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः): ‘यस्य पादौ सेविनः’ इति विशेषणेन ‘विप्र’— ‘those Brahmins who serve whose feet’; पञ्चमी-बहुवचनम् (Ablative plural) ‘...भ्यः’; पुंलिङ्गः

• veda-adhyayana-saṃgrahaḥ: the collection/compendium of Vedic study
• veda-adhyayana-saṃgrahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + adhyayana (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃgraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः (षष्ठी/सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषभावः) ‘वेदाध्ययनस्य संग्रहः’; पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-एकवचनम् (Nominative singular)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) addressing the sages (deduced); the 'me' reflects a narrator quoting a cosmic authority (likely Brahmā) within the passage

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aruṇācala

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/devotees

Visual Art Cues

Scene: After pralaya’s stillness, Śiva ‘calls’ beings back; devoted brahmin-sages rise with palm-leaf manuscripts and luminous Vedic syllables streaming from Śiva’s feet, gathering into ordered hymns.

Characters & Entities

• Aruṇācala
• Brahmā (implied by 'mayā' in pralaya/creation context)
• Veda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Service to the Lord’s feet sustains dharma across cycles; Vedic wisdom is restored through devoted custodians.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Aruṇācala, implied as the seat of the Lord whose feet are served and where dharma is safeguarded.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied discipline: pāda-sevā (devotional service) and veda-adhyayana (Vedic study) as dharma-preserving practices.