Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

भवंति तावद्वर्षाणि करकः शिवसद्मनि । इति पौराणवाक्यानि स्मरञ्छैलं शिवालयम्

Transliteration

bhavaṃti tāvadvarṣāṇi karakaḥ śivasadmani | iti paurāṇavākyāni smarañchailaṃ śivālayam

Translation

तावद्वर्षाणि करकः शिवसद्मनि सम्बध्यते। इति पौराणवाक्यानि स्मरन् शैलं शिवालयमकार्षम्॥

Word by Word

• bhavanti: are, become
• bhavanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tāvat: so many, that many
• tāvat: Pramana (Measure/प्रमाण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय/परिमाण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाणवाचक-क्रियाविशेषणम् (quantifying adverb)

• varṣāṇi: years
• varṣāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• karakaḥ: the doer/maker (builder)
• karakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• śivasadmani: in Śiva’s abode/temple
• śivasadmani: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + sadman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: शिवस्य सद्म); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

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

• paurāṇavākyāni: Purāṇic statements
• paurāṇavākyāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paurāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समासः (पौराणानि वाक्यानि); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• smaran: remembering
• smaran: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु) → smarat (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्तः (present active participle/शतृ); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषण-भावे (concomitant action)

• śailam: stone, rock
• śailam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• śivālayam: Śiva-temple
• śivālayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: शिवस्य आलयः); पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (contextual deduction within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śivālaya (stone prāsāda)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The devotee, recalling Purāṇic promises, supervises the raising of a stone Śiva temple—quarry stones, masons, pillars, and the sanctum taking shape.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Śivālaya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic teaching motivates concrete pious action: building a durable Śiva-temple brings enduring merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the ‘Śiva’s abode’ refers broadly to the sanctity of Śiva temples.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Constructing a stone Śivālaya is recommended as a high-merit religious undertaking.