Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

त्राहित्राहि महादेव रेतसो जगतः पते

Transliteration

trāhitrāhi mahādeva retaso jagataḥ pate

Translation

« Protège-nous, protège-nous, ô Mahādeva—ô Seigneur du monde—face à cette puissance divine débordante (retas) ! »

Word by Word

• त्राहि: protect!
• त्राहि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्रा (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• त्राहि: protect!
• त्राहि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्रा (धातु)
• Form: लोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (emphatic repetition)

• महादेव: O Mahādeva
• महादेव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः

• रेतसः: of seed/seminal energy
• रेतसः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• जगतः: of the world
• जगतः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• पते: O lord
• पते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Devas and Ṛṣis concluding/continuing the stuti to Śiva (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣi audience (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee/deva with trembling hands cries ‘trāhi trāhi’ before a blazing yet compassionate Śiva; the divine energy is palpable like a storm of light, calmed by Śiva’s steady gaze.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva
• Jagatpati (Lord of the world)
• retas (divine potency)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In peril—outer or inner—devotees turn to Mahādeva as Jagatpati, the ultimate protector and regulator of power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not explicitly; the prayer occurs within Kedārakhaṇḍa’s broader Kedāra pilgrimage-theology.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Supplicatory prayer (trāhi trāhi) is performed; no additional rite (snāna, dāna, vrata) is stated in this verse.