Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

किं वा केसरलोभेन सिंहेनैव विदारितः । किं भुजंगफणारत्नहारी सर्पविषार्दितः

Transliteration

kiṃ vā kesaralobhena siṃhenaiva vidāritaḥ | kiṃ bhujaṃgaphaṇāratnahārī sarpaviṣārditaḥ

Translation

Ou bien fut-il déchiré par un lion, avide de sa crinière ? Ou bien fut-il accablé par le venin du serpent—lui qui dérobe les gemmes du capuchon du nāga ?

Word by Word

• किम्: what?
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (interrogative pronoun: neuter, nominative/accusative singular)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: or)

• केसरलोभेन: by desire for the mane
• केसरलोभेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kesara (प्रातिपदिक) + lobha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (केसरस्य लोभः), पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (instrumental singular)

• सिंहेन: by a lion
• सिंहेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: siṃha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (instrumental singular)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• विदारितः: torn apart
• विदारितः: Karma (Patient/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि+दृ (धातु) → vidārita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (past passive participle: torn)

• किम्: what?
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (interrogative pronoun)

• भुजंगफणारत्नहारी: (one) who takes the jewel from a serpent’s hood
• भुजंगफणारत्नहारी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhujaṃga (प्रातिपदिक) + phaṇā (प्रातिपदिक) + ratna (प्रातिपदिक) + hārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (भुजंगस्य फणायां रत्नं तस्य हारी), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (adjectival noun: one who takes/steals)

• सर्पविषार्दितः: afflicted by snake venom
• सर्पविषार्दितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarpa (प्रातिपदिक) + viṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ardita (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सर्पस्य विषेण आर्दितः), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (afflicted by snake-venom)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A worried woman imagines her absent husband’s possible deaths: torn by a lion seeking mane, or poisoned after stealing hood-jewels from a serpent; the forest feels ominous and sacred at once.

Characters & Entities

• Lion (siṃha)
• Snake (sarpa)
• Jewel (ratna)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Greed and predatory impulses are portrayed as leading to suffering—either directly (violence) or indirectly (poisonous consequences).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not named in this verse; it remains within Kedārakhaṇḍa’s sacred narrative environment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.