Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 119

Devanagari script

पापी पापसमाचारो विचरन्गिरिकंदरे । अनेकश्वापदाकीर्णे हन्यमान इतस्ततः

Transliteration

pāpī pāpasamācāro vicarangirikaṃdare | anekaśvāpadākīrṇe hanyamāna itastataḥ

Translation

Pécheur, voué aux actes de péché, il errait dans les grottes des montagnes. Dans des contrées remplies de bêtes sauvages, il était frappé et pourchassé de-ci de-là.

Word by Word

• पापी: sinful
• पापी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पापिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (किरातः)

• पापसमाचारः: of sinful conduct
• पापसमाचारः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप+समाचार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (किरातः); समासः—पाप+समाचार (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषः: ‘whose conduct is sinful’)

• विचरन्: wandering
• विचरन्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि+चर् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• गिरिकन्दरे: in a mountain cave
• गिरिकन्दरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि+कन्दर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—गिरि+कन्दर (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘mountain-cave’)

• अनेकश्वापदाकीर्णे: filled with many wild beasts
• अनेकश्वापदाकीर्णे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनेक+श्वापद+आकीर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (गिरिकन्दरे); समासः—अनेक (कर्मधारयः) + श्वापद (प्रातिपदिक) + आकीर्ण (तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः: ‘filled with’)

• हन्यमानः: being struck/attacked
• हन्यमानः: Karta (Experiencer/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: यक्-प्रत्ययान्त कर्मणि वर्तमानकृदन्त (present passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• इतस्: from here/this side
• इतस्: Kriya-visheshana (Directional)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: देश-बोधक अव्यय (adverb: from here/this side)

• ततः: from there/that side
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Directional)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: देश-बोधक अव्यय (adverb: from there/that side)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (wilderness perimeter)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A distressed hunter runs through rocky caves and narrow mountain passes; wild beasts lurk—wolves, bears, big cats—creating a sense of being hunted as he once hunted others.

Characters & Entities

• Kirāta (hunter)
• Mountain caves

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pāpa manifests as inner and outer peril—restlessness, fear, and suffering—until one turns toward dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kedāra region is the broader sacred landscape into which the narrative is moving.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes the hunter’s condition and the hazardous terrain, preparing for the tīrtha encounter.