Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

विपाट्य जठराण्येषां वीर्यं माहेश्वरं ततः । निष्क्रांतं तत्सरो जातं पारदं शतयोजनम्

Transliteration

vipāṭya jaṭharāṇyeṣāṃ vīryaṃ māheśvaraṃ tataḥ | niṣkrāṃtaṃ tatsaro jātaṃ pāradaṃ śatayojanam

Translation

Déchirant leurs ventres, la puissance de Māheśvara s'écoula ; de là surgit un lac de mercure (pārada), s'étendant sur cent yojanas.

Word by Word

• विपाट्य: having torn open
• विपाट्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-पट्/पाट् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः (indeclinable verbal)

• जठराणि: bellies
• जठराणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जठर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), द्वितीया (Acc. 2), बहुवचन (pl.)

• एषाम्: of these (gods)
• एषाम्: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Gen. 6), बहुवचन (pl.)

• वीर्यम्: seed/potency
• वीर्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc. 1/2), एकवचन (sg.)

• माहेश्वरम्: of Maheśvara (Śiva)
• माहेश्वरम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: माहेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc. 1/2), एकवचन (sg.); विशेषण

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kāla (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), क्रम (then)

• निष्क्रान्तम्: came out/emerged
• निष्क्रान्तम्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: निस्-क्रम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc. 1/2), एकवचन (sg.)

• तत्: that (potency)
• तत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc. 1/2), एकवचन (sg.)

• सरः: a lake
• सरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg.)

• जातम्: was born/formed
• जातम्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg.)

• पारदम्: mercury/quicksilver
• पारदम्: Apposition (Sāmānādhikaraṇya/सामानाधिकरण्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg.); विशेष्य-निर्देश (appositional)

• शतयोजनम्: a hundred yojanas (in extent)
• शतयोजनम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Measure/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत-योजन (प्रातिपदिक; शत + योजन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन (sg.); परिमाण-विशेषण (measure adjective)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pārada-saras (Mercury Lake)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The bellies of the devas are rent; Māheśvara potency streams forth and congeals into a vast, shimmering mercury lake spanning a hundred yojanas—silvery, reflective, uncanny.

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Maheśvara (Śiva)
• Pārada (mercury)
• Saras (lake)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s tejas is overwhelming and world-forming; divine potency, when displaced, can manifest as extraordinary sacred phenomena.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A sacred lake of mercury (pārada-saras) is described as arising, but the verse itself does not give a conventional tīrtha-name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; it is etiological (origin) narration.