Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

ततो मृतोऽहं जातश्च विप्रो जातिस्मरो नृप । वैदिशे नगरेऽकार्षं शिवपूजां विशेषतः

Transliteration

tato mṛto'haṃ jātaśca vipro jātismaro nṛpa | vaidiśe nagare'kārṣaṃ śivapūjāṃ viśeṣataḥ

Translation

त्यानंतर मी मरण पावून पुन्हा जन्मलो व ब्राह्मण झालो, हे नृपा; पूर्वजन्माची स्मृतीही राहिली. विदिशा नगरी मी विशेष भक्तीने शिवपूजा केली.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable); अव्यय-प्रकारः: क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb)

• mṛtaḥ: dead
• mṛtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛ (धातु) → mṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्तः (past passive participle/क्त); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; उत्तमपुरुषार्थे; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; (gender-neutral pronoun)

• jātaḥ: born, become
• jātaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jan (धातु) → jāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्तः (past passive participle/क्त); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः: समुच्चयबोधक-संबन्धक (conjunction)

• vipraḥ: a brāhmaṇa
• vipraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• jātismaraḥ: one who remembers past births
• jātismaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāti (प्रातिपदिक) + smara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध-तत्पुरुषः: जातिं स्मरति इति); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• nṛpa: O king
• nṛpa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• vaidiśe: in Vidiśā (Vaidiśa)
• vaidiśe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaidiśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुल्लिङ्ग-विशेषण-रूपे (स्थानविशेषण); सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरणे

• nagare: in the city
• nagare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nagara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• akārṣam: I performed, I did
• akārṣam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (aorist), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• śivapūjām: worship of Śiva
• śivapūjām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + pūjā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: शिवस्य पूजा); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• viśeṣataḥ: especially, particularly
• viśeṣataḥ: Prakara (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः: क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverb)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating a past-life account (contextual deduction within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vidiśā (Vaidīśa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A jātismara brāhmaṇa in Vidiśā performs intense Śiva-pūjā—lamp, bilva leaves, water-pot, and ash marks—within a modest shrine setting, with the city’s ancient skyline behind.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Vidiśā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion to Śiva carries across lifetimes and can lead to elevated rebirth and continued dharmic practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vidiśā is mentioned as the city where the narrator especially performed Śiva-pūjā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śiva-pūjā (worship of Śiva) is explicitly stated, emphasizing sustained, dedicated practice.