Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

एवमालोक्यमानः स कामिनीभिर्महेश्वरः । बभ्राम राजमार्गेण भिक्षां देहीति कीर्तयन्

Transliteration

evamālokyamānaḥ sa kāminībhirmaheśvaraḥ | babhrāma rājamārgeṇa bhikṣāṃ dehīti kīrtayan

Translation

Ainsi, sous le regard des femmes, Maheśvara erra sur la voie royale, proclamant : «Donnez-moi l’aumône !»

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार-वाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• ālokyamānaḥ: being looked at
• ālokyamānaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival to sa/maheśvaraḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-lok (धातु) → ālokyamāna (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; वर्तमानकर्मणि कृदन्त (present passive participle)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• kāminībhiḥ: by the women
• kāminībhiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāminī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया (Instrumental); बहुवचन

• maheśvaraḥ: Maheshvara (Śiva)
• maheśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समासः (mahān īśvaraḥ)

• babhrāma: wandered
• babhrāma: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhram (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन

• rāja-mārgeṇa: along the royal road
• rāja-mārgeṇa: Adhikaraṇa (Path/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + mārga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (Instrumental); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (rājñaḥ mārgaḥ)

• bhikṣām: alms
• bhikṣām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhikṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (Accusative); एकवचन

• dehi: give
• dehi: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative); परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष (2nd); एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण-चिह्न (quotative particle)

• kīrtayan: proclaiming
• kīrtayan: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial; manner)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kīrt (धातु) → kīrtayat (शतृ-कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकालिक शतृ-कृदन्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; क्रियार्थे

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (contextual deduction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Maheśvara, unclad or minimally clad as an avadhūta, walks the main royal road with a begging bowl, calling ‘bhikṣāṃ dehi’; women watch from balconies and doorways; the road framed by town architecture.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśvara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the Supreme Lord adopts the vow-like form of a mendicant, teaching humility and the purifying power of bhikṣā as a dharmic act.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to a Tīrthamāhātmya sequence in Nāgarakhaṇḍa, but no particular tīrtha-name appears in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, the dharma of giving alms (bhikṣā/dāna) is invoked through Śiva’s call, though no formal rite is detailed.