Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

ततस्तं स समालोक्य शंकरं शशिशेखरम् । प्रणम्य विधिवद्भक्त्या स्तुतिं चक्रे महामुनिः

Transliteration

tatastaṃ sa samālokya śaṃkaraṃ śaśiśekharam | praṇamya vidhivadbhaktyā stutiṃ cakre mahāmuniḥ

Translation

Alors, ayant contemplé Śaṅkara, le Seigneur au croissant de lune, le grand sage se prosterna avec bhakti selon le rite et composa un hymne de louange.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla/Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): 'ततः' = 'then/thereafter'

• tam: him
• tam: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• samālokya: having seen
• samālokya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sam-ā-√lok (धातु) + ल्यप् (अव्ययभाव/gerund)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्यय (Gerund): सम्+आ+लोक् → समालोक्य = 'having seen'

• śaṃkaram: Śaṅkara
• śaṃkaram: Karman (Object; apposition to tam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• śaśiśekharam: moon-crested (Śiva)
• śaśiśekharam: Karman (Object; epithet of Śaṅkara)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaśi (प्रातिपदिक) + śekhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (Genitive determinative): शशेः शेखरः = 'one whose crest is the moon'

• praṇamya: having bowed
• praṇamya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√nam (धातु) + ल्यप् (अव्ययभाव/gerund)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्यय (Gerund): प्र+नम् → प्रणम्य = 'having bowed'

• vidhivat: duly, according to rite
• vidhivat: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): 'विधिवत्' = 'according to rule/ritually'

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• stutim: praise, hymn
• stutim: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: stuti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• cakre: composed/made
• cakre: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपदम्; अर्थे: 'made/composed'

• mahāmuniḥ: the great sage
• mahāmuniḥ: Kartā (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः: महांश्चासौ मुनिः = 'the great sage'

Speaker

Sūta (narrative description; speaker not restated but continues the narration of events)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A great sage (mahāmuni) beholds Śaṅkara, moon-crested, and bows with folded hands, beginning a hymn; the deity is serene, ash-smeared, with jaṭā and crescent moon, possibly near a tīrtha setting.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Śaśiśekhara
• Viśvāmitra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the mightiest tapasvin turns to Śiva with humility; bhakti and proper reverence are presented as the stabilizing core of spiritual power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse does not name a specific tīrtha; it emphasizes Śiva-bhakti within a tīrtha-māhātmya narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies vidhivat praṇāma and stuti (devotional praise) as proper acts of worship, without detailing a full ritual procedure.