Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

तदेकयात्रया प्रोक्तमर्बुदस्य महागिरेः । यत्र तप्त्वा तपो मर्त्या देहधातून्विहाय च

Transliteration

tadekayātrayā proktamarbudasya mahāgireḥ | yatra taptvā tapo martyā dehadhātūnvihāya ca

Translation

അതേ പുണ്യം മഹാഗിരിയായ അർബുദത്തിലേക്കുള്ള ഒരൊറ്റ തീർത്ഥയാത്രയാൽ തന്നെ ലഭിക്കുന്നു എന്നു പ്രസ്താവിക്കുന്നു—അവിടെ മർത്ത്യർ തപസ്സു ചെയ്ത് പിന്നെ ദേഹധാതുക്കൾ ഉപേക്ഷിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• tad-eka-yātrayā: by that single pilgrimage
• tad-eka-yātrayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + eka (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या) + yātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण (instrumental); समासार्थः ‘तस्य एकया यात्रया’

• proktam: is declared/said
• proktam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘प्र-√वच्’ = said/declared; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive participle)

• arbudasya: of Arbuda (mountain)
• arbudasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arbuda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध

• mahā-gireḥ: of the great mountain
• mahā-gireḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + giri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् गिरिः)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• taptvā: having performed austerity
• taptvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tap (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘√तप्’ = having performed austerity / having heated (context: tapas)

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• martyāḥ: mortals
• martyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्ता

• deha-dhātūn: the bodily elements/constituents
• deha-dhātūn: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक) + dhātu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (देहस्य धातवः)

• vihāya: having abandoned
• vihāya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: hā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘वि-√हा’ = having abandoned

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Śailajā (Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda Mahāgiri

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Arbuda mountain rises with hermitages and sacred groves; ascetics perform tapas near a Śiva shrine; one ascetic is shown in serene deha-tyāga, elements dissolving into light, indicating transcendence.

Characters & Entities

• Arbuda (mahāgiri)
• Arbudāraṇya (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A holy yātrā joined with tapas transforms life and death itself into a doorway to liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Arbuda Mahāgiri (Mount Arbuda) and its sacred environs (Arbudāraṇya), by context of the preceding verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) at the sacred mountain/forest is highlighted alongside the act of pilgrimage (yātrā).