Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

काचित्प्रियतमं शंभुं बभाषे विस्मयान्विता । कोसि त्वं भिक्षुको भूत्वा आगतोत्र महामते

Transliteration

kācitpriyatamaṃ śaṃbhuṃ babhāṣe vismayānvitā | kosi tvaṃ bhikṣuko bhūtvā āgatotra mahāmate

Translation

ಆಗ ಒಂದು ಸ್ತ್ರೀ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯದಿಂದ ತನ್ನ ಪ್ರಿಯ ಶಂಭುವಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದಳು— “ಹೇ ಮಹಾಮತೇ! ಭಿಕ್ಷುಕನ ವೇಷದಲ್ಲಿ ನೀನು ಯಾರು, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಗೆ ಬಂದೆ?”

Word by Word

• काचित्: a certain (woman)
• काचित्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (प्रातिपदिक, सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• प्रियतमम्: most beloved
• प्रियतमम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रियतम (प्रातिपदिक; प्रिय + तमप् प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (object-qualifier)

• शम्भुम्: Śambhu (Śiva)
• शम्भुम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्भु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• बभाषे: spoke
• बभाषे: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भाष् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• विस्मय-अन्विता: filled with astonishment
• विस्मय-अन्विता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विस्मय (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्वित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषार्थः (विस्मयेन अन्विता = endowed with wonder)

• कः: who
• कः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (प्रातिपदिक, प्रश्न-सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• असि: are
• असि: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक, सर्वनाम)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष-सर्वनाम; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• भिक्षुकः: a beggar
• भिक्षुकः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भिक्षुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having become)

• आगतः: come
• आगतः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-गम् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त, past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• महामते: O great-minded one
• महामते: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (महान् मतिः यस्य)

Speaker

ṛṣibhāryā (a sage’s wife) addressing Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra/Kedāranātha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In a Himalayan hermitage near Kedāra, a sage’s wife, astonished, addresses Śambhu who appears as a lone beggar; her posture is questioning, his presence serene and enigmatic.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu (Śiva)
• ṛṣibhāryā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine may appear in humble forms to awaken discernment and devotion; wonder becomes the doorway to inquiry (jijñāsā).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra’s sacred setting (Kedārakhaṇḍa), where Śiva’s līlā is narrated as part of the place’s greatness.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the focus is on recognition and inquiry regarding the mendicant form.