Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

छलितो मुह्यमानस्तु दिवारात्रिं न वेत्ति च । पुंस्त्रीनपुंसकाश्चैव जडीभूतस्त्रिलोचनः

Transliteration

chalito muhyamānastu divārātriṃ na vetti ca | puṃstrīnapuṃsakāścaiva jaḍībhūtastrilocanaḥ

Translation

വഞ്ചിതനും മോഹഗ്രസ്തനുമായ അവൻ പകലും രാത്രിയും തിരിച്ചറിയാതെ പോയി; ജഡീഭൂതനായ ത്രിലോചനൻ പുരുഷ-സ്ത്രീ-നപുംസക ഭേദവും തിരിച്ചറിയാനായില്ല.

Word by Word

• छलितः: deceived
• छलितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छलित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √छल् धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (त्रिलोचनः)

• मुह्यमानः: being deluded
• मुह्यमानः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुह्यत् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √मुह् धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/Present Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/अन्वय-बोधक (particle: but/indeed)

• दिवारात्रिम्: day and night
• दिवारात्रिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवा + रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्वन्द्वः—दिवा च रात्रिः च (as a pair)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• वेत्ति: knows
• वेत्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• पुंस्: male
• पुंस्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुंस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वस्य पूर्वपद (in compound)

• स्त्री: female
• स्त्री: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वस्य मध्यपद (in compound)

• नपुंसकाः: neuters
• नपुंसकाः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नपुंसक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वस्य उत्तरपद (in compound)

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

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• जडीभूतः: become inert/stupefied
• जडीभूतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जड + भू (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP) ‘भूत’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष/उपपद-समासः—जडः भूत्वा/जडतां गतः

• त्रिलोचनः: the three-eyed one
• त्रिलोचनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि + लोचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—त्रीणि लोचनानि यस्य सः

Speaker

Vyāsa (narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Unnamed Śiva-tīrtha (līlā of vyāmohana)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: O great one (addressed interlocutor not specified in verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva shown in a trance-like stupor, eyes unfocused, the sun and moon circling ambiguously overhead; surrounding figures appear androgynous or symbolically blended, conveying collapse of ordinary distinctions.

Characters & Entities

• Trilocana (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic narration uses extraordinary reversals to highlight līlā and the mysterious working of power (śakti) behind tīrtha sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode belongs to the Śiva-tīrtha account within Dharmāraṇya, serving as its mythic backdrop.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is mentioned in this verse.