Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

महतामालयं यस्माद्यस्यास्तच्चरणांबुजम् । महालयेति विख्याता जगत्त्रयविमोहिनी

Transliteration

mahatāmālayaṃ yasmādyasyāstaccaraṇāṃbujam | mahālayeti vikhyātā jagattrayavimohinī

Translation

Parce que ses pieds de lotus sont le séjour des grands, elle est célébrée sous le nom de « Mahālayā », l’enchanteresse des trois mondes.

Word by Word

• mahatām: of the great (ones)
• mahatām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• ālayam: abode
• ālayam: Karta (Predicate nominal/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yasmāt: because of which/from which
• yasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंस, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• yasyāḥ: of whom/whose (f.)
• yasyāḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying caraṇāmbujam)

• caraṇāmbujam: the lotus-feet
• caraṇāmbujam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ambuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: चरणाम्बुज = 'lotus of the feet'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• mahālayā: Mahālayā (name/title)
• mahālayā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महान् आलयः/आलया; नामरूपेण), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha-bodhaka (Quotation marker/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-निपात (quotative)

• vikhyātā: renowned
• vikhyātā: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + khyā (धातु) + kta (क्त) → vikhyāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle: 'renowned'), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying mahālayā)

• jagattraya-vimohinī: enchantress of the three worlds
• jagattraya-vimohinī: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक) + vimohinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (जगत्-त्रयस्य विमोहिनी = 'enchantress of the three worlds'); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying mahālayā)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahālayā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotional tableau focused on the divine feminine: her lotus-feet radiate, forming a sanctuary where great sages and devas gather; the three worlds appear subtly enchanted yet held in protective grace.

Characters & Entities

• Mahālayā (epithet/place-name/title)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True refuge is found at the divine feet; sanctity is defined by sheltering the noble and elevating the devotee’s mind.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A locality or sacred designation called “Mahālayā,” explained through its etymology as ‘abode of the great.’

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the focus is on mahātmya through naming and praise.