Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

वव्रे महासुरो मृत्युं ब्रह्माणं मानमोहितः । ब्रह्मा प्रोचे ततस्तं च तथेति हरवाक्यतः

Transliteration

vavre mahāsuro mṛtyuṃ brahmāṇaṃ mānamohitaḥ | brahmā proce tatastaṃ ca tatheti haravākyataḥ

Translation

Ослеплённый гордыней, великий асура испросил у Брахмы это условие, касающееся смерти. И Брахма сказал ему: «Да будет так», согласно слову Хары.

Word by Word

• vavre: chose; asked for
• vavre: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपदम्; अर्थः—वव्रे/वृणुते (chose/asked for)

• mahā-asuraḥ: the great demon
• mahā-asuraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + asura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—महान् असुरः (a great asura)

• mṛtyum: death
• mṛtyum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• brahmāṇam: Brahmā
• brahmāṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; विशेष्यः—ब्रह्मा (Brahmā)

• māna-mohitaḥ: deluded by pride
• māna-mohitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: māna (प्रातिपदिक) + mohita (कृदन्त; √muh)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषभावः—माननेन मोहितः (deluded by pride)

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• proce: said
• proce: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्; प्र-उपसर्गः; अर्थः—प्रोचे (said/spoke)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययम्; काल/क्रमवाचक (then/thereupon)

• tam: to him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

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

• tathā: thus
• tathā: Adverbial (Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; प्रकारवाचक (thus/so)

• iti: saying
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक-अव्ययम् (quotative)

• hara-vākyataḥ: according to Hara’s words
• hara-vākyataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक) + vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुषात् निष्पन्नम् अव्ययम्; -तः (ablatival adverb): हरस्य वाक्यात् (from/according to Hara's words)

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa, per Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (addressed in nearby verses of the passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā, seated on a lotus-throne, pronounces the boon to the proud asura; an unseen Śivaic ordinance (‘Hara’s word’) frames the moment, with ominous cosmic stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Tāraka (Mahāsura)
• Brahmā
• Hara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Boons operate within higher divine governance; pride blinds the seeker to the inevitable moral consequences embedded in the grant.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse emphasizes divine hierarchy (Brahmā acting under Śiva’s overarching will).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.