Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 78

Devanagari script

एवं विक्रीडमानौ तावक्षविद्याविशारदौ । तदा जितो भवान्याथ शंकरो बहुभूषणः

Transliteration

evaṃ vikrīḍamānau tāvakṣavidyāviśāradau | tadā jito bhavānyātha śaṃkaro bahubhūṣaṇaḥ

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ ദ്യൂതവിദ്യയിൽ നിപുണരായ ആ ഇരുവരും കളിച്ചുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കെ, അപ്പോൾ അനേകം ആഭരണങ്ങളാൽ അലങ്കൃതനായ ശങ്കരൻ ഭവാനിയാൽ പരാജിതനായി.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable adverb: ‘thus’)

• विक्रीडमानौ: (the two) playing
• विक्रीडमानौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + क्रीड् (धातु) → विक्रीडमान (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; ‘playing’

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन

• अक्षविद्याविशारदौ: skilled in the science of dice
• अक्षविद्याविशारदौ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अक्षविद्या (प्रातिपदिक) + विशारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (अक्षविद्यायां विशारदौ); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; विशेषण

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kālādhi karaṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb: ‘then’)

• जितः: was defeated
• जितः: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जि (धातु) → जित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकाले क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘defeated’

• भवानी: Bhavānī (Pārvatī)
• भवानी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवानी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध/अनुक्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (particle: ‘then/and then’)

• शंकरः: Śaṅkara
• शंकरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• बहुभूषणः: having many ornaments
• बहुभूषणः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक) + भूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (बहूनि भूषणानि यस्य); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Sūta narrating to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra / Kedāranātha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva and Pārvatī seated in a Himalayan pavilion, dice-board between them; Śiva richly ornamented, the moment of his ‘defeat’ captured with amused serenity; snowy peaks and cedar forests suggest Kedāra’s terrain.

Characters & Entities

• Bhavānī (Pārvatī)
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Skill and fortune fluctuate; the Purāṇic narrative uses play to suggest that worldly outcomes are not ultimate measures of truth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kedāra sacred setting underlies the chapter, but the verse itself is not a tīrtha-stuti (site eulogy).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it reports the outcome of the game.