Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

एषैव मम मर्यादा नियता लोकभाविनी । जीर्णोद्धारे कृते वापि फलं तद्द्विगुणं मतम्

Transliteration

eṣaiva mama maryādā niyatā lokabhāvinī | jīrṇoddhāre kṛte vāpi phalaṃ taddviguṇaṃ matam

Translation

«Telle est bien ma règle établie, fixée pour le bien du monde. Et si l’on entreprend de restaurer ce qui est vieux et ruiné, le fruit de cet acte est tenu pour double.»

Word by Word

• eṣā: this
• eṣā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative singular)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle of emphasis)

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-एकवचन (Genitive singular)

• maryādā: rule/limit/ordinance
• maryādā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maryādā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन (Feminine, Nominative singular)

• niyatā: fixed/ordained
• niyatā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niyata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; नि+यम् धातोः क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Feminine, Nominative singular; past passive participle ‘fixed/ordained’)

• lokabhāvinī: beneficial for the world
• lokabhāvinī: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāvinī (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; भू धातोः णिनि/इनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन; णिनि-प्रत्ययान्त (Feminine, Nominative singular; ‘beneficial/bringing about for the world’)

• jīrṇa: in (the matter of) the old/decayed
• jīrṇa: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jīrṇa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; जॄ/जृ धातोः क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-एकवचन (Neuter, Locative singular)

• uddhāre: in renovation/raising up
• uddhāre: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: uddhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी-एकवचन (Masculine, Locative singular)

• kṛte: when done
• kṛte: Adhikaraṇa (Condition/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; कृ धातोः क्त)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; लोके सप्तमी (Locative singular; ‘when done/if done’)

• vā: or/even if
• vā: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle)

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-निपात (particle ‘also/even’)

• phalam: fruit/result
• phalam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन (Neuter, Nominative singular)

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन (Neuter, Nominative singular)

• dviguṇam: double
• dviguṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या) + guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन (Neuter, Nominative singular; ‘twofold/double’)

• matam: is considered
• matam: Karma (Predicate complement/कर्मसंज्ञक)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; मन् धातोः क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Neuter, Nominative singular; ‘considered/held’)

Speaker

Devī (Umā/Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/disciples in the frame narrative

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A patron and artisans restore a weathered shrine: replacing broken stones, repainting, re-gilding, cleaning the sanctum; a deity’s presence is felt as a luminous aura, signifying ‘double fruit’.

Characters & Entities

• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Maintaining and restoring beneficial or sacred structures is especially meritorious—preservation is dharma, not merely new construction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named; the verse supports restoration of dharmic works everywhere, including tīrthas and temples.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Jīrṇoddhāra—repairing/renovating decayed works (such as wells, tanks, or sacred buildings)—is prescribed as giving double fruit.