Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 98

Devanagari script

ऋषयो यक्षगंधर्वाः परिवार्य कुमारकम् । दंडवत्पितिता भूमौ केचिच्च नतकंधराः

Transliteration

ṛṣayo yakṣagaṃdharvāḥ parivārya kumārakam | daṃḍavatpititā bhūmau kecicca natakaṃdharāḥ

Translation

Les sages, les yakṣas et les gandharvas entourèrent le jeune Kumāra. Certains tombèrent à terre en prosternation, d’autres inclinèrent la nuque avec humilité.

Word by Word

• ṛṣayaḥ: sages
• ṛṣayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• yakṣagandharvāḥ: Yakṣas and Gandharvas
• yakṣagandharvāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakṣa + gandharva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (यक्षाश्च गन्धर्वाश्च), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• parivārya: having surrounded
• parivārya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari + vṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund)

• kumārakam: the young boy (Kumāra)
• kumārakam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• daṇḍavat: prostrate (like a stick)
• daṇḍavat: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: daṇḍavat (अव्यय/निपात)
• Form: रीति-वाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘like a staff’, i.e., prostrate)

• patitāḥ: fell down
• patitāḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past participle, active sense), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; (they) having fallen

• bhūmau: on the ground
• bhūmau: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक (some)

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

• natakandharāḥ: with bowed necks
• natakandharāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nata + kandhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (नता कन्धरा येषाम्/नत-कन्धराः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; kecit इति विशेषण/विधेय

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta (deduced; Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ring of sages with matted hair and staffs, yakṣas with robust forms, and gandharvas with instruments encircle young Kumāra; some lie fully prostrate, others bow with bent necks, creating a layered devotional choreography.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis
• Yakṣas
• Gandharvas
• Kumāra (Skanda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Humility is the mark of true greatness—prostration and bowed-headed reverence are praised as proper response to divine darśana.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra (Kedārakhaṇḍa), whose sanctity is affirmed by sages and celestial beings offering daṇḍavat-praṇāma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Daṇḍavat-praṇāma (full prostration) is depicted as a devotional act, though not stated as a formal injunction in this verse.