Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

राजानं नेतुकामास्ते पाशहस्ता महाभयाः । यावत्समागता याम्या राजानं ददृशुस्त्वरात्

Transliteration

rājānaṃ netukāmāste pāśahastā mahābhayāḥ | yāvatsamāgatā yāmyā rājānaṃ dadṛśustvarāt

Translation

Les redoutables messagers de Yama, le nœud coulant à la main, brûlant de saisir le roi, s’élancèrent; et dès leur arrivée, ils aperçurent promptement le roi.

Word by Word

• rājānam: the king
• rājānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• netu-kāmāḥ: desiring to lead away
• netu-kāmāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nī (धातु) + tumun (तुमुन्) + kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; तुमुनन्त (नेतुम्) + काम (इच्छा) इति तत्पुरुषः; विशेषण (ते/याम्याः इति विशेष्य)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• pāśa-hastāḥ: having nooses in their hands
• pāśa-hastāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (पाशः हस्ते येषां ते)

• mahā-bhayāḥ: very terrifying
• mahā-bhayāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (महच्च तत् भयम्)

• yāvat: when/as soon as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (correlative: as long as/when)

• samāgatāḥ: had arrived
• samāgatāḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-gam (धातु) + ta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त) कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• yāmyāḥ: Yama's (messengers)
• yāmyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yāmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; 'यमसम्बन्धिनः' (Yama's)

• rājānam: the king
• rājānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• dadṛśuḥ: saw
• dadṛśuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• tvarāt: in haste/quickly
• tvarāt: Hetu (Cause/Manner/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; हेतौ/निमित्ते (ablative of cause/manner)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied audience (Viprāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yamadūtas—terrifying, nooses raised—rush into the temple courtyard and behold the king near the liṅga; the king appears composed, lit by lamps, while the messengers loom in shadow.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Yamadūtas
• King (nṛpa/rājā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly power cannot shield one from death’s summons, yet the narrative sets the stage for how devotion at a holy place reshapes that encounter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kedāra Śiva-sthāna, where the king is encountered by Yama’s agents.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a narrative description of Yama’s messengers approaching.