Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

ततो हिडंबातनयो महौजाः सूर्याक्षकालाक्षमहोदरानुगः । वियत्पथं प्राप्य जगाम तत्पुरं प्राग्ज्योतिषं नाम दिनव्यपाये

Transliteration

tato hiḍaṃbātanayo mahaujāḥ sūryākṣakālākṣamahodarānugaḥ | viyatpathaṃ prāpya jagāma tatpuraṃ prāgjyotiṣaṃ nāma dinavyapāye

Translation

അപ്പോൾ ഹിഡിംബയുടെ മഹൗജസ്വിയായ പുത്രൻ—സൂര്യാക്ഷൻ, കാലാക്ഷൻ, മഹോദരൻ എന്നിവരോടൊപ്പം—ആകാശപഥം പ്രാപിച്ച്, ദിനാവസാനത്തിൽ ‘പ്രാഗ്ജ്യോതിഷ’ എന്ന ആ നഗരത്തിലേക്ക് പോയി.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तदर्थे (thereupon/then)

• हिडम्बातनयः: son of Hiḍambā
• हिडम्बातनयः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिडम्बा (प्रातिपदिक) + तनय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (हिडम्बायाः तनयः)

• महौजाः: of great vigor
• महौजाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक) + ओजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (महत् ओजः यस्य) विशेषणार्थे

• सूर्याक्षकालाक्षमहोदरानुगः: follower of Sūryākṣa, Kālākṣa and Mahodara
• सूर्याक्षकालाक्षमहोदरानुगः: Viśeṣaṇa (Appositional qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्याक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + कालाक्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + महोदर (प्रातिपदिक) + अनुग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (सूर्याक्ष-कालाक्ष-महोदर-नामकानाम् अनुगः = follower/attendant)

• वियत्पथम्: the sky-path, aerial route
• वियत्पथम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वियत् (प्रातिपदिक) + पथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (वियतः पथः)

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) + ल्यप्
• Form: ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वक्रिया (having reached)

• जगाम: went
• जगाम: Kriyā
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तत्पुरम्: to that city
• तत्पुरम्: Karma (Destination as object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + पुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (तस्य पुरम्)

• प्राग्ज्योतिषम्: Prāgjyotiṣa (city-name)
• प्राग्ज्योतिषम्: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition to तत्पुरम्)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राक् (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) + ज्योतिष् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (प्राक्-ज्योतिष् = name of city)

• नाम: named
• नाम: Nāmanirdeśa (Naming particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नामनिर्देशक (particle meaning 'named/called')

• दिनव्यपाये: at the end of the day
• दिनव्यपाये: Adhikaraṇa (Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक) + व्यपाय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (दिनस्य व्यपायः = day’s end/decline)

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition in Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prāgjyotiṣa (Prāgjyotiṣapura)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ghaṭotkaca (son of Hiḍimbā), mighty and formidable, flies through the sky with companions Sūryākṣa, Kālākṣa, Mahodara; below, forests and rivers fade as dusk approaches; ahead rises the city of Prāgjyotiṣa with ramparts and glowing lamps.

Characters & Entities

• Hiḍimbā
• Sūryākṣa
• Kālākṣa
• Mahodara
• Prāgjyotiṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic journeys often signal a shift into a new sacred setting where karmic consequences and dharmic encounters unfold.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse names the city Prāgjyotiṣa; it is a geographic marker rather than an explicit tīrtha-praise passage here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None—this is a travel/narrative transition verse.