Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

विमानवरमा रुह्य प्रययावलकापुरीम् । तस्मिन्गते तु यक्षेशे ध्यानकाष्ठो महामुनिः

Transliteration

vimānavaramā ruhya prayayāvalakāpurīm | tasmingate tu yakṣeśe dhyānakāṣṭho mahāmuniḥ

Translation

ശ്രേഷ്ഠമായ വിമാനത്തിൽ കയറി യക്ഷാധിപൻ അലകാപുരിയിലേക്കു പുറപ്പെട്ടു. യക്ഷരാജൻ പോയശേഷം മഹാമുനി ധ്യാനകാഷ്ഠൻ അവിടെ തന്നെ നിലകൊണ്ടു.

Word by Word

• vimāna-varam: the excellent aerial car
• vimāna-varam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vimāna (प्रातिपदिक) + vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मपदम्

• āruhya: having mounted
• āruhya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-ruh (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव; पूर्वक्रिया ‘having mounted’

• prayayau: went
• prayayau: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√yā (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• alakā-purīm: to the city of Alakā
• alakā-purīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: alakā (प्रातिपदिक) + purī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; गन्तव्य-देशः

• tasmin: when he (that one)
• tasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; ‘in/when that (one)’

• gate: having gone / after (he) had gone
• gate: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Circumstantial/सप्तमीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past Passive Participle), सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुं/नपुंसक; लोकेटिव-अब्सोल्यूट (सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)

• tu: but/then
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/अन्वयार्थे

• yakṣeśe: when the lord of the Yakṣas (Kubera)
• yakṣeśe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; ‘in/when the lord of Yakṣas’

• dhyāna-kāṣṭhaḥ: fixed in meditation (lit. ‘meditation-wooden/rigid’)
• dhyāna-kāṣṭhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhyāna (प्रातिपदिक) + kāṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (मुनिः)

• mahā-muniḥ: the great sage
• mahā-muniḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator in Setukhaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant Yakṣa-king ascends a jeweled vimāna and departs toward a distant, cloud-wreathed Alakā; below, the great sage Dhyānakāṣṭha remains seated in composed stillness, surrounded by forest austerity.

Characters & Entities

• Yakṣeśa (Kubera)
• Alakā
• Dhyānakāṣṭha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly power and celestial travel are transient; the narrative turns back to the sage whose curse and dharma shape events.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sets narrative context; the explicit tīrtha praise in this passage culminates in Setu and Dhanuṣkoṭi in later verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.