Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

पादप्रक्षालनार्थाय सिद्धदेवसमागमे । हारीतश्च पुरस्कृत्य वामपादं तदा स्थितः

Transliteration

pādaprakṣālanārthāya siddhadevasamāgame | hārītaśca puraskṛtya vāmapādaṃ tadā sthitaḥ

Translation

«Pour le lavage des pieds, au milieu de l’assemblée des Siddhas et des dieux, Hārīta—placé au premier rang—se tint alors, le pied gauche en avant.»

Word by Word

• पादप्रक्षालनार्थाय: for the purpose of washing the feet
• पादप्रक्षालनार्थाय: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद-प्रक्षालन-अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पादस्य प्रक्षालनम् = foot-washing; तस्य अर्थः = purpose); चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; प्रयोजन (dative of purpose)

• सिद्धदेवसमागमे: in the assembly/gathering of siddhas and gods
• सिद्धदेवसमागमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्ध-देव-समागम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सिद्धानां देवानां समागमः); पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अधिकरण

• हारीतः: Hārīta
• हारीतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हारीत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृपद

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction ‘and’)

• पुरस्कृत्य: having placed in front / having honored
• पुरस्कृत्य: Sambandha/Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरस्-√कृ (कृदन्त; अव्ययभाव)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), ‘having placed in front/after honoring’

• वामपादम्: the left foot
• वामपादम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाम-पाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (वामः पादः); पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मपद

• तदा: then
• तदा: Sambandha/Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय

• स्थितः: stood/was standing
• स्थितः: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्थित (कृदन्त; √स्था)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past active participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि—‘stood/was standing’

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative voice within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, likely Sūta)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A celestial assembly: Siddhas and devas gathered; Hārīta stands foremost for foot-washing, conspicuously placing the left foot forward while attendants hold a water-pot and basin.

Characters & Entities

• Hārīta
• Siddhas
• Devas
• Pādaprakṣālana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Honouring the worthy through respectful ritual service is central; even small breaches of etiquette can become spiritually significant in Purāṇic narratives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it describes a ritual moment within a sacred assembly setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pādaprakṣālana—washing the feet of an honoured guest/sage—is the ritual act referenced.