Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

रक्षरक्ष महाविष्णो शरणागतवत्सल । त्वया ततमिदं सर्वं जंगमाजंगमं च यत्

Transliteration

rakṣarakṣa mahāviṣṇo śaraṇāgatavatsala | tvayā tatamidaṃ sarvaṃ jaṃgamājaṃgamaṃ ca yat

Translation

Protège-nous, protège-nous, ô Grand Viṣṇu—toi qui chéris ceux qui cherchent refuge. Par toi tout est pénétré : ce qui se meut et ce qui ne se meut pas.

Word by Word

• रक्ष: protect
• रक्ष: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular); परस्मैपदम्

• रक्ष: protect (again)
• रक्ष: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular); परस्मैपदम्; पुनरुक्ति (emphatic repetition)

• महाविष्णो: O great Viṣṇu
• महाविष्णो: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाविष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative/8th), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—महान् + विष्णुः

• शरणागतवत्सल: O lover of those who seek refuge
• शरणागतवत्सल: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शरणागत + वत्सल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative/8th), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—शरणं आगतः (शरणागत) तस्य वत्सलः

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• ततम्: pervaded, spread
• ततम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तन् (धातु) + त (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृत् (Past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• सर्वम्: all
• सर्वम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); इदम्-विशेषणम्

• जंगमम्: the moving (beings)
• जंगमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जङ्गम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular); द्वन्द्व-समुच्चयार्थे (paired with ajangama)

• अजंगमम्: the non-moving (things)
• अजंगमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ + जङ्गम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular); नञ्-समास (negation)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction/particle)

• यत्: whatever (that which)
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (Relative pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Devas and Asuras (collective supplication within the narrative; introduced by prior verse ‘they praised’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (contextual frame)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devas in distress fold hands and cry ‘rakṣa rakṣa’ to Mahāviṣṇu, while the cosmos—moving and unmoving—appears as His pervaded body.

Characters & Entities

• Mahāviṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śaraṇāgati (taking refuge) is presented as the sure path to protection, grounded in the Lord’s all-pervading nature.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is directly glorified; the verse is a universal prayer embedded in Kedārakhaṇḍa’s sacred narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite is stated; the act here is stuti and supplication (prārthanā).