Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 155

Devanagari script

विरक्तोऽसौ महादेवो मदनो येन वै हतः । तं तोषयामि तपसा शंकरं लोकशंकरम्

Transliteration

virakto'sau mahādevo madano yena vai hataḥ | taṃ toṣayāmi tapasā śaṃkaraṃ lokaśaṃkaram

Translation

Ce Mahādeva est détaché : c’est lui qui, en vérité, a terrassé Kāma (Madana). Par l’austérité, je plairai à Śaṅkara, bienfaiteur des mondes.

Word by Word

• विरक्तः: detached, dispassionate
• विरक्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-रक्त (कृदन्त; √रञ्ज् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) विशेषण

• असौ: that (he)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• महादेवः: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• महादेवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महā + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• मदनः: Madana (Kāma)
• मदनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मदन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• येन: by whom
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• हतः: killed
• हतः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हत (कृदन्त; √हन् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थक; ‘killed’

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तोषयामि: I please, I propitiate
• तोषयामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √तुष् (धातु) [णिच् causative: तोषय-]
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative)

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• शंकरम्: Śaṅkara
• शंकरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• लोकशंकरम्: benefactor of the world
• लोकशंकरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक + शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (लोकस्य शंकरः)

Speaker

Pārvatī (as quoted within Sūta’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (munis/śaunaka-type setting typical of Purāṇic narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An ascetic devotee resolves to please detached Mahādeva who burned Kāma; Śiva is envisioned as serene, ash-smeared, third eye luminous, seated in Himalayan stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Madana (Kāma)
• Śaṅkara
• Pārvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is won not by desire but by disciplined austerity and purity; detachment (vairāgya) is central to approaching the divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedārakhaṇḍa frames this devotion within the Himalayan Śaiva landscape associated with Kedāra and tapas-based attainment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) is the stated means for propitiating Śaṅkara.