Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

परस्परं वंचयंतौ सिंहाविव महाबलौ । वैतालिकीं समाश्रित्य तथा वै खेचरीं गतिम्

Transliteration

parasparaṃ vaṃcayaṃtau siṃhāviva mahābalau | vaitālikīṃ samāśritya tathā vai khecarīṃ gatim

Translation

Se trompant et se déjouant l’un l’autre tels deux lions d’une grande puissance, ils adoptèrent la démarche vaitālikī, ainsi que la khecarī, parcourant le ciel.

Word by Word

• परस्परम्: each other
• परस्परम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परस्पर (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभावप्राय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (reciprocal adverb)

• वंचयन्तौ: deceiving/outwitting
• वंचयन्तौ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वञ्च् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त) 'वञ्चयन्त्'
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन — कर्तरि

• सिंहौ: two lions
• सिंहौ: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन — उपमान (simile base)

• इव: like
• इव: Upama (Simile marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमावाचक (comparative particle)

• महाबलौ: very strong
• महाबलौ: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महā (पूर्वपद) + बल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन — कर्मधारयः; विशेषणम् (of the two fighters)

• वैतालिकीम्: the vaitālikī (a kind of)
• वैतालिकीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैतालिकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — 'गति'विशेषणरूपेण

• समाश्रित्य: having adopted
• समाश्रित्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्-आ-√श्रि (धातु) + ल्यप् (अव्ययकृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), 'having resorted to/adopted'

• तथा: thus, likewise
• तथा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (manner adverb)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (emphatic particle)

• खेचरीम्: sky-moving, aerial
• खेचरीम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: खेचरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषणम् (of 'गतिम्')

• गतिम्: movement, mode of motion
• गतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

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

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Like two lions, the combatants feint and outmaneuver; they shift into specialized modes—vaitālikī and khecarī—leaping, circling, and fighting through the sky.

Characters & Entities

• Tāraka
• Kumāra (Skanda)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly conflict relies on strategy and deception; spiritual victory, however, belongs to clear-sighted dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra-khaṇḍa provides the setting; no particular tīrtha is singled out in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.