Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 128

Devanagari script

किं कौपीनेन ते कार्यं मुनिना भावितात्मना । दिगम्बरेणैव तदा कृतं दारुवनं तथा

Transliteration

kiṃ kaupīnena te kāryaṃ muninā bhāvitātmanā | digambareṇaiva tadā kṛtaṃ dāruvanaṃ tathā

Translation

ഹേ ഭാവിതാത്മാ മുനിയേ! നിനക്ക് കൗപീനത്തിന്റെ എന്ത് ആവശ്യം? നീ ദിഗംബരനായി മുമ്പ് ദാരുവനത്തിലും അങ്ങനെ തന്നെയായിരുന്നു പ്രവർത്തിച്ചത്.

Word by Word

• किम्: what?
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम (interrogative pronoun)

• कौपीनेन: with/by a loincloth
• कौपीनेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौपीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Case 3), एकवचन; करण/साधन-निर्देश (instrumental)

• ते: for you / of you
• ते: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Case 6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• कार्यम्: need, purpose, task
• कार्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), एकवचन; भाववाचक/कर्तव्यवाचक (thing to be done)

• मुनिना: by the sage
• मुनिना: Kartr (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Case 3), एकवचन

• भावितात्मना: of disciplined/controlled self
• भावितात्मना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भावित-आत्मन् (कृदन्त + प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (भावितः आत्मा यस्य/भावित-आत्मा); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Case 3), एकवचन; कृदन्त: भावित (भू धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय; past passive participle)

• दिगम्बरेण: by the sky-clad (naked one)
• दिगम्बरेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिक्-अम्बर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (दिगेव अम्बरं यस्य/दिगम्बरः); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Case 3), एकवचन

• एव: indeed, only
• एव: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle); अवधारणार्थक (emphatic)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• कृतम्: done, made
• कृतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत (कृ धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), एकवचन; कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• दारुवनम्: the Daru forest
• दारुवनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दारु-वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (दारूणि यस्मिन् वनम्/दारुवनम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Case 1/2), एकवचन

• तथा: thus, in that way
• तथा: Avyaya (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of manner)

Speaker

Pārvatī

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (contextual frame)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A speaker recalls Śiva’s earlier digambara mendicant-līlā in Dāruvana, questioning the need for a kaupīna for a realized sage; the tone is teasing yet doctrinal.

Characters & Entities

• Pārvatī
• Śiva (as muni/yogin)
• Dāruvana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True renunciation is inward; external garments are secondary for a realized yogin—yet narrative references remind listeners of earlier teachings through Śiva’s ascetic līlā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate section is Kedārakhaṇḍa (Kedāra), while Dāruvana is cited as a remembered sacred-mythic locale within Śaiva lore.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it contrasts ascetic nakedness (digambara) with the idea of a kaupīna.