Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

पादप्रक्षालनार्थाय सिद्धदेवसमागमे । हारीतश्च पुरस्कृत्य वामपादं तदा स्थितः

Transliteration

pādaprakṣālanārthāya siddhadevasamāgame | hārītaśca puraskṛtya vāmapādaṃ tadā sthitaḥ

Translation

പാദപ്രക്ഷാലനത്തിനായി സിദ്ധ-ദേവ സമാഗമത്തിൽ, ഹാരീതനെ മുൻപിൽ നിർത്തി അവൻ അപ്പോൾ ഇടത് പാദം മുന്നോട്ടുവെച്ച് നിന്നു।

Word by Word

• पादप्रक्षालनार्थाय: for the purpose of washing the feet
• पादप्रक्षालनार्थाय: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद-प्रक्षालन-अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पादस्य प्रक्षालनम् = foot-washing; तस्य अर्थः = purpose); चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (4th/चतुर्थी), एकवचन; प्रयोजन (dative of purpose)

• सिद्धदेवसमागमे: in the assembly/gathering of siddhas and gods
• सिद्धदेवसमागमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्ध-देव-समागम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सिद्धानां देवानां समागमः); पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अधिकरण

• हारीतः: Hārīta
• हारीतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हारीत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृपद

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction ‘and’)

• पुरस्कृत्य: having placed in front / having honored
• पुरस्कृत्य: Sambandha/Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरस्-√कृ (कृदन्त; अव्ययभाव)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), ‘having placed in front/after honoring’

• वामपादम्: the left foot
• वामपादम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाम-पाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (वामः पादः); पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मपद

• तदा: then
• तदा: Sambandha/Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय

• स्थितः: stood/was standing
• स्थितः: Kriya (State/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्थित (कृदन्त; √स्था)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past active participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि—‘stood/was standing’

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative voice within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, likely Sūta)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A celestial assembly: Siddhas and devas gathered; Hārīta stands foremost for foot-washing, conspicuously placing the left foot forward while attendants hold a water-pot and basin.

Characters & Entities

• Hārīta
• Siddhas
• Devas
• Pādaprakṣālana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Honouring the worthy through respectful ritual service is central; even small breaches of etiquette can become spiritually significant in Purāṇic narratives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it describes a ritual moment within a sacred assembly setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pādaprakṣālana—washing the feet of an honoured guest/sage—is the ritual act referenced.