Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

हरस्तत्राययौ साक्षाद्ब्रह्मचारिवपुर्द्धरः । वसानो वल्कलं दिव्यं रौरवाजिनसंवृतः

Transliteration

harastatrāyayau sākṣādbrahmacārivapurddharaḥ | vasāno valkalaṃ divyaṃ rauravājinasaṃvṛtaḥ

Translation

അപ്പോൾ സാക്ഷാൽ ഹരൻ അവിടെ വന്നു, ബ്രഹ്മചാരിയുടെ രൂപം ധരിച്ചു. ദിവ്യ വൽക്കലം ധരിച്ചു, രൗരവ മൃഗചർമ്മംകൊണ്ട് ആവൃതനായിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• haraḥ: Hara (Śiva)
• haraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative) एकवचनम्

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषणम् (locative adverb: 'there')

• āyayau: came, arrived
• āyayau: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु) + ā-
• Form: लिट् (Perfect) परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person) एकवचनम्

• sākṣāt: directly, in person
• sākṣāt: Sambandha (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sākṣāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb: 'directly/in person')

• brahmacāri-vapuḥ-dharaḥ: bearing the form of a celibate student
• brahmacāri-vapuḥ-dharaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahmacārin (प्रातिपदिक) + vapuḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative) एकवचनम्; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः; विशेषणम् (to 'haraḥ')

• vasānaḥ: wearing
• vasānaḥ: Karta (Agent qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vas (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (present active participle); पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदी; विशेषणवत्

• valkalam: bark-garment
• valkalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: valkala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचनम्

• divyam: divine, splendid
• divyam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: divya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (to 'valkalam')

• raurava-ajina-saṃvṛtaḥ: covered with a raurava-skin
• raurava-ajina-saṃvṛtaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: raurava (प्रातिपदिक) + ajina (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃvṛta (प्रातिपदिक; √vṛ 'cover' with sam-)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative) एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः; विशेषणम् (to 'haraḥ')

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) narrating (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva arrives personally as a youthful brahmacārin: serene face, matted or neatly bound hair, wearing divine bark-cloth and a raurava skin; he steps into the tapas-grove with quiet authority.

Characters & Entities

• Hara (Śiva)
• Brahmacārin

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine response follows sincere austerity; God may appear in testing or teaching forms to guide the devotee.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting is the sacred Himalayan region where Pārvatī performs tapas; no named tīrtha is specified in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No prescription; it describes Śiva’s ascetic appearance (brahmacārin, bark-cloth, deerskin) consistent with tapas culture.