Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

जातो जाति स्मरस्तत्र कारिता तृतीयेहं भवांतरे । सार्वभौमो महीपालः प्रतिष्ठाने पुरोत्तमे

Transliteration

jāto jāti smarastatra kāritā tṛtīyehaṃ bhavāṃtare | sārvabhaumo mahīpālaḥ pratiṣṭhāne purottame

Translation

Là, je naquis de nouveau, gardant mémoire des existences passées ; ainsi, dans une troisième vie ultérieure, je devins un roi souverain à Pratiṣṭhāna, cette cité éminente.

Word by Word

• jātaḥ: was born
• jātaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु) → jāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• jāti: Jāti (name)
• jāti: Karta (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; (as name/epithet)

• smaraḥ: Smara (name)
• smaraḥ: Karta (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; (as name/epithet)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (locative adverb)

• kāritā: was caused to be done
• kāritā: Kriya (Passive-result/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु) → kārita (णिच् causative)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, णिच्-प्रयोगे ‘caused to be done’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; agrees with an implied feminine noun (e.g., kriyā/puṇyakriyā)

• tṛtīye: in the third
• tṛtīye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक/क्रमवाचक)
• Form: क्रमवाचक विशेषण; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन; with bhavāntare understood

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• bhavāntare: in another birth/existence
• bhavāntare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava + antara (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (भवस्य अन्तरम् = another existence), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• sārvabhaumaḥ: universal sovereign
• sārvabhaumaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva + bhauma (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (सर्वः चासौ भौमः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• mahīpālaḥ: king, protector of the earth
• mahīpālaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī (प्रातिपदिक) + pāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (महीं पालयति), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• pratiṣṭhāne: in Pratiṣṭhāna (place)
• pratiṣṭhāne: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratiṣṭhāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन

• purottame: in the best city
• purottame: Adhikarana (Location qualifier/अधिकरण-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pura (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-भाव (उत्तमं पुरम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; qualifying pratiṣṭhāne/pure

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (contextual deduction within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pratiṣṭhāna

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (mahīpāla)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A coronation scene in the splendid city of Pratiṣṭhāna: the reborn king, with a contemplative gaze suggesting memory of past lives, stands amid ministers and banners; in the background, the river Godāvarī and city gates.

Characters & Entities

• Pratiṣṭhāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit and devotion mature across lifetimes, yielding elevated birth and worldly sovereignty as karmic fruition.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pratiṣṭhāna is named as the excellent city where the narrator becomes a sovereign king.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed in this verse; it concludes a karmic narrative of rebirth and reward.