Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

मंत्रवादान्बहून्वैद्यानुपायानपरानपि । पित्रोस्तथा महामायासंबद्धमनसोस्तथा

Transliteration

maṃtravādānbahūnvaidyānupāyānaparānapi | pitrostathā mahāmāyāsaṃbaddhamanasostathā

Translation

Il eut recours à de nombreux récitateurs de mantras, à des médecins et à d’autres remèdes encore ; et mes parents aussi, l’esprit enchaîné par la Grande Māyā, agirent de même.

Word by Word

• mantra-vādān: mantric doctrines/charms
• mantra-vādān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक) + vāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; 'मन्त्राणां वादाः' इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; accusative plural

• bahūn: many
• bahūn: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; adjective to 'mantra-vādān' (and following objects)

• vaidyān: physicians
• vaidyān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaidya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; accusative plural

• upāyān: means, remedies
• upāyān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; accusative plural

• aparān: other
• aparān: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apara (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; adjective to 'upāyān'

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Additive particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अपि-प्रयोग) = particle 'also/even'

• pitroḥ: of (my) two parents
• pitroḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), द्विवचन; genitive dual

• tathā: and likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable; 'तथा/एवम्/अपि'

• mahā-māyā-saṃbaddha-manasoḥ: of the two minds bound by great delusion
• mahā-māyā-saṃbaddha-manasoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + māyā (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃbaddha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, द्विवचन; 'महामायया संबद्धे मनसी' इति तृतीया-तत्पुरुष (saṃbaddha-manas) with पूर्वपद-विशेषण (mahā-māyā); genitive dual qualifying 'pitroḥ'

• tathā: also, likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/क्रियाविशेषण)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) narrating (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa convention)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sequence-like tableau: spell-reciters chanting, physicians examining, various remedies arranged; parents appear anxious, with a faint veil-like motif symbolizing mahāmāyā over their minds, while the silent youth remains steady.

Characters & Entities

• Mantravāda practitioners
• Vaidya (physicians)
• Parents
• Mahāmāyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly attachment and delusion drive frantic remedies, while true freedom lies in higher discernment and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No sacred geography is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Consulting mantra-specialists and physicians is described, but not prescribed as a religious rite.