Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

इत्या कर्ण्य तथेत्युक्त्वा वसंतरतिसंयुतः । पिकादिसैन्यसंपन्नो हिमाद्रिं प्रययौ स्मरः

Transliteration

ityā karṇya tathetyuktvā vasaṃtaratisaṃyutaḥ | pikādisainyasaṃpanno himādriṃ prayayau smaraḥ

Translation

ଏହା ଶୁଣି ସ୍ମର (କାମଦେବ) ‘ତଥାସ୍ତୁ’ ବୋଲି କହିଲେ। ପରେ ବସନ୍ତ ଓ ରତି ସହ, କୋଇଲି ଆଦି ସେନାସହିତ ହିମାଦ୍ରି (ହିମାଳୟ) ଦିଗେ ପ୍ରୟାଣ କଲେ।

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• ā: indeed/just
• ā: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्गः ‘आ’ (emphatic/limitative, used with iti)

• karṇya: having heard
• karṇya: Kriya-viseshana (Gerundial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √kṛ (कृ) + ल्यप् (कर्ण्य = श्रुत्वा-समर्थः)
• Form: कृदन्त; ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), अर्थः ‘श्रुत्वा/कर्णे कृत्वा’

• tathā: so/likewise
• tathā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषणम्

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Kriya-viseshana (Gerundial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √vac (वच्) + क्त्वा
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘उक्त्वा’

• vasanta-rati-saṃyutaḥ: accompanied by Spring and Rati
• vasanta-rati-saṃyutaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of subject/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vasanta (प्रातिपदिक) + rati (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyuta (√yuj (युज्) + क्त)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः); विशेषणम्; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘वसन्तेन रत्या च संयुक्तः’

• pika-ādi-sainya-saṃpannaḥ: endowed with an army of cuckoos and others
• pika-ādi-sainya-saṃpannaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier of subject/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pika (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + sainya (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃpanna (√pad (पद्) + क्त)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुषः); विशेषणम्; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘पिकादि-सैन्येन सम्पन्नः’

• himādriṃ: to the Himālaya mountain
• himādriṃ: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: himādri (hima + adri) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मपदम्

• prayayau: went forth
• prayayau: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + √yā (या)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• sma: indeed (past marker)
• sma: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sma (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; भूतार्थ-निपातः (past tense particle)

• smaraḥ: Smara (Kāma)
• smaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Himādri (general tapas-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kāma (Smara) departs with Vasanta and Rati, attended by a whimsical ‘army’ of cuckoos and spring-borne forces, moving toward the snowy Himālaya where Śiva performs austerities.

Characters & Entities

• Smara (Kāma)
• Vasanta
• Rati
• Pika (cuckoo)
• Himādri (Himalaya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic narratives portray inner forces (desire, seasonality, attraction) as cosmic agents moving toward divine encounter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Himādri (the Himalaya) is invoked as the sacred region where Śiva’s āśrama is situated in this chapter’s storyline.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is narrative movement toward a sacred setting.