Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

ये तार्किकास्तर्कपरास्तथ मीमांसकाश्च ये । अन्योन्यवादिनश्चान्ये चान्ये वात्मवितर्ककाः

Transliteration

ye tārkikāstarkaparāstatha mīmāṃsakāśca ye | anyonyavādinaścānye cānye vātmavitarkakāḥ

Translation

Ceux qui sont logiciens, voués à l’argumentation, ainsi que les mīmāṃsakas ; d’autres qui se querellent entre eux, et d’autres encore qui se livrent à des spéculations sur le soi—

Word by Word

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक-प्रयोगः (relative pronoun)

• तार्किकाः: logicians
• तार्किकाः: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तार्किक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• तर्कपराः: devoted to argument
• तर्कपराः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तर्क (प्रातिपदिक) + पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (तर्के पराः = तर्कनिष्ठाः)

• तथा: and likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/तुल्यार्थे (and likewise)

• मीमांसकाः: Mīmāṃsā scholars
• मीमांसकाः: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मीमांसक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; पुनरुक्त-सम्बन्धक (relative)

• अन्योन्यवादिनः: mutual disputants
• अन्योन्यवादिनः: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्योन्य (प्रातिपदिक) + वादिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (अन्योन्यं वदन्ति)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Disjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (or)

• आत्मवितर्ककाः: self-speculators (those who argue about the self)
• आत्मवितर्ककाः: Karta (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + वितर्कक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (आत्मविषये वितर्कः येषाम्)

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra/Kedāranātha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of scholars debating with hand gestures and palm-leaf manuscripts, contrasted with a quiet Śiva shrine in the background drawing the eye toward worship.

Characters & Entities

• tārkika (logicians)
• mīmāṃsaka
• disputants

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Intellectual debate alone is incomplete; spiritual life must be grounded in devotion and lived practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within Kedāra-khaṇḍa, the Kedāra pilgrimage ethos is upheld: realization is tied to Śiva’s worship in sacred space, not argument alone.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, it points away from mere disputation toward śivārcana (Śiva worship), which is stated explicitly in the next verse.