Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

किं वा भूतगृहीताऽसि माहेंद्रेण ज्वरेण वा

Transliteration

kiṃ vā bhūtagṛhītā'si māheṃdreṇa jvareṇa vā

Translation

ନାହିଁ କି—ତୁମେ ଭୂତଗ୍ରହୀତା ହୋଇଛ କି, ନା ମାହେନ୍ଦ୍ର ଜ୍ୱରରେ ପୀଡିତ?

Word by Word

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma (Interrogative/प्रश्नकर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (interrogative: what?)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Disjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (disjunctive: or)

• भूतगृहीता: possessed by a spirit
• भूतगृहीता: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूत + गृहीत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (nominative singular feminine; 'seized by a spirit')

• असि: are
• असि: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present); मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद (2nd person singular)

• माहेंद्रेण: Mahendra-related
• माहेंद्रेण: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: माहेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (instrumental singular; qualifying 'jvareṇa')

• ज्वरेण: by fever
• ज्वरेण: Karana (Instrument/cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन (instrumental singular)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Disjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक (or)

Speaker

Unspecified (context suggests a concerned questioner within the narrative)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A worried woman points toward the fainted figure, asking if she is seized by a spirit or struck by a fierce fever; attendants exchange fearful glances; a sense of unseen presence is suggested.

Characters & Entities

• Māhendra-jvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Suffering is to be diagnosed truthfully—whether physical (fever) or subtle (spirit-affliction)—so that proper remedial dharma can be applied.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this line; it is part of the wider Tīrthamāhātmya narration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is an inquiry about the cause of affliction.