Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 183

Devanagari script

शशिखंडधरं चैव रुण्डमालाप्रधारकम् । समं चैव स्थितस्तेषां दर्शने शंकरः प्रभुः

Transliteration

śaśikhaṃḍadharaṃ caiva ruṇḍamālāpradhārakam | samaṃ caiva sthitasteṣāṃ darśane śaṃkaraḥ prabhuḥ

Translation

En contemplant ces formes de Rudra—l’une portant le croissant de lune en cimier, l’autre une guirlande de têtes tranchées—le Seigneur Śaṅkara se tint devant elles, égal et inébranlable dans sa vision.

Word by Word

• śaśi-khaṇḍa-dharam: bearing the moon-fragment
• śaśi-khaṇḍa-dharam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaśin (प्रातिपदिक) + khaṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (शशिनः खण्डं धरति)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

• ruṇḍa-mālā-pradhārakam: wearing a garland of heads
• ruṇḍa-mālā-pradhārakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ruṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + mālā (प्रातिपदिक) + pradhāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (रुण्डमालां प्रधारयति)

• samam: equally
• samam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-प्रयोगः; क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative: 'equally')

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण

• sthitaḥ: standing/remaining
• sthitaḥ: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; लट्-अर्थे स्थितः (is standing)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• darśane: in/at the sight (seeing)
• darśane: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• śaṃkaraḥ: Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• śaṃkaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• prabhuḥ: the Lord
• prabhuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; उपपद-विशेष्य (appositional)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; within Sūta’s narration in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ṛṣayaḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two prominent Rudra forms appear: one serene with crescent moon on the matted locks; another fierce, adorned with a garland of severed heads. Between/behind them stands Śaṅkara, steady and impartial, radiating equal regard.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva embodies perfect equanimity—remaining steady and equal-minded even before awe-inspiring and fierce divine manifestations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya within the Nāgara Khaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this verse; it is a descriptive theological moment within the Rudra-manifestation narrative.