Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 65

Devanagari script

तदा तस्य शिरश्छिन्नं राहोर्दुर्विग्रहस्य च । शिवरो गगनमापेदे कबंधं च महीतले । भ्रममाणं तदा ह्यद्रींश्चूर्णयामास वै तदा

Transliteration

tadā tasya śiraśchinnaṃ rāhordurvigrahasya ca | śivaro gaganamāpede kabaṃdhaṃ ca mahītale | bhramamāṇaṃ tadā hyadrīṃścūrṇayāmāsa vai tadā

Translation

Alors la tête de ce Rāhu difforme fut tranchée ; la tête s'éleva dans le ciel, tandis que le tronc tomba sur la terre. Tournoyant, ce corps broya alors les montagnes en fragments.

Word by Word

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: 'then')

• tasya: of him/its
• tasya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• śiraḥ: head
• śiraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• chinnam: cut off
• chinnam: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: chid (धातु) + kta (क्त) → chinna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying śiraḥ)

• rāhoḥ: of Rāhu
• rāhoḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• durvigrahasya: of the formidable (one)
• durvigrahasya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + vigraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (उपपद-तत्पुरुष: दुर्विग्रह = 'difficult to fight/terrible-bodied'); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying rāhoḥ)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• śivaraḥ: Śivara (name)
• śivaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śivara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• gaganam: the sky
• gaganam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gagana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• āpede: went/reached
• āpede: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + pad (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम

• kabaṃdham: the trunk (headless body)
• kabaṃdham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kabaṃdha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• mahītale: on the earth’s surface
• mahītale: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī-tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: महीतल = 'surface of the earth'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• bhramamāṇam: wandering/spinning
• bhramamāṇam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhram (धातु) + śatṛ (शतृ) → bhramamāṇa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying kabaṃdham)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: emphasis/indeed)

• adrīn: mountains
• adrīn: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (Plural)

• cūrṇayāmāsa: pulverized/crushed
• cūrṇayāmāsa: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: cūrṇ (धातु) + ṇic (णिच्) + āsa (लिट्-परिप्रयोग)
• Form: णिजन्त-धातु (causative) + लिट्-परिप्रयोग (periphrastic perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: emphasis)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nivāsa (near the crushing spot)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/assembly of sages (standard Purāṇic frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rāhu’s severed head shoots upward into the sky while the trunk crashes to earth; the headless body whirls like a cyclone, smashing Himalayan ridges into dust under a storm-darkened firmament.

Characters & Entities

• Rāhu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma pursued for immortality becomes self-destructive; cosmic law restores balance, yet its shockwaves affect the world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within Kedārakhaṇḍa, this upheaval functions as a mythic explanation for sanctified locales and their names in the Kedāra region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse depicts cosmic consequences rather than a ritual injunction.