Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

पतनान्मूर्छया युक्तः क्षणमात्रं तदाऽभवत् । ततो मूर्छागतस्यास्य पापिनोऽनिष्टकारिणः

Transliteration

patanānmūrchayā yuktaḥ kṣaṇamātraṃ tadā'bhavat | tato mūrchāgatasyāsya pāpino'niṣṭakāriṇaḥ

Translation

À cause de la chute, il s’évanouit et demeura ainsi un bref instant. Puis, tandis qu’il gisait dans cette syncope —lui, pécheur et fauteur d’actes funestes—

Word by Word

• patanāt: from the fall
• patanāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• mūrchayā: with fainting
• mūrchayā: Sahakārī/Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūrchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yuktaḥ: was afflicted/associated
• yuktaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yuj (युज् धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययः), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग; ‘युक्तः’ = endowed/connected

• kṣaṇa-mātram: for a moment
• kṣaṇa-mātram: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Duration/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (क्षणस्य मात्रम्)

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

• abhavat: became / was
• abhavat: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Sequence/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रम/अपादानार्थ (‘thereafter/from that’)

• mūrchā-gatasya: of (him) who had fallen unconscious
• mūrchā-gatasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūrchā (प्रातिपदिक) + gata (√gam, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘मूर्छां गतः’); विशेषणम्

• asya: of this (man) / his
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• pāpinaḥ: of the sinful one
• pāpinaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• aniṣṭa-kāriṇaḥ: of the doer of evil
• aniṣṭa-kāriṇaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aniṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + kārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (‘अनिष्टं करोति’); विशेषणम्

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), speaking to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-audience (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The fallen man lies motionless in a brief swoon; bystanders or the silent landscape witnesses the pause, emphasizing his sinful past and the gravity of the moment.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A moment of helplessness can break arrogance and prepare the mind for remorse and dharmic insight.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode is embedded in Kedārakhaṇḍa’s Kedāra-centered sacred teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this half-narrative verse; it sets up the internal change that follows.