Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

अहंकारात्समुत्पन्नं महत्तत्त्वं च पार्वति । महत्तत्त्वात्तमो जातं तमसा वेष्टितं नभः

Transliteration

ahaṃkārātsamutpannaṃ mahattattvaṃ ca pārvati | mahattattvāttamo jātaṃ tamasā veṣṭitaṃ nabhaḥ

Translation

De l’ahaṃkāra (l’egoïté) naît le principe de Mahat, ô Pārvatī. De Mahat naît tamas, l’obscurité ; et l’espace (nabhas) se trouve enveloppé par cette obscurité.

Word by Word

• ahaṃkārāt: from ego (ahaṃkāra)
• ahaṃkārāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahaṃkāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन

• samutpannam: arisen
• samutpannam: Kriya (Result-state/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + ut + pad (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय

• mahattattvam: the Mahat principle
• mahattattvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahat + tattva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (mahat + tattva), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (subject)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• pārvati: O Pārvatī
• pārvati: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन

• mahattattvāt: from Mahat-tattva
• mahattattvāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahattattva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन

• tamaḥ: darkness; tamas
• tamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• jātam: was born
• jātam: Kriya (Result-state/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय

• tamasā: by darkness
• tamasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• veṣṭitam: covered; enveloped
• veṣṭitam: Kriya (Result-state/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: veṣṭ (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय

• nabhaḥ: sky; ether
• nabhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nabhas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra-kṣetra (contextual frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic cosmogram: from a central ‘I’-knot (ahaṃkāra) radiates Mahat; then a dark veil (tamas) spreads, dimming a vast sky-dome (nabhas). Śiva explains while Pārvatī listens.

Characters & Entities

• Pārvatī
• Ahaṃkāra
• Mahat-tattva
• Tamas
• Nabhas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly experience arises through layered principles (ahaṃkāra, Mahat, tamas); recognizing this helps loosen attachment to appearances.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs in Kedāra-khaṇḍa (Kedārakṣetra/Kedarnath region), though this specific line teaches cosmology rather than directly praising a spot.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is a doctrinal statement about manifestation and the guṇas.