Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

एवमुक्तस्तया शंभुः पुनस्तामब्रवीद्वचः । दाक्षायण्या विरहितो विचरामि दिगंबरः

Transliteration

evamuktastayā śaṃbhuḥ punastāmabravīdvacaḥ | dākṣāyaṇyā virahito vicarāmi digaṃbaraḥ

Translation

அவள் இவ்வாறு கூற, ஶம்பு மீண்டும் சொன்னார்— “தாட்சாயணியிலிருந்து பிரிந்து, நான் திகம்பரனாய் அலைகிறேன்.”

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (thus)

• उक्तः: having been addressed
• उक्तः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त, past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• तया: by her
• तया: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक, सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• शम्भुः: Śambhu
• शम्भुः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्भु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति/कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (again)

• ताम्: to her
• ताम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक, सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• अब्रवीत्: said
• अब्रवीत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• वचः: words
• वचः: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मरूपेण (what was said)

• दाक्षायण्या: from Dākṣāyaṇī (Satī)
• दाक्षायण्या: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दाक्षायणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• विरहितः: separated / bereft
• विरहितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-रह् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त, past participle used adjectivally); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• विचरामि: I wander
• विचरामि: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-चर् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• दिगम्बरः: sky-clad (naked ascetic)
• दिगम्बरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिक् (प्रातिपदिक) + अम्बर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (दिशः अम्बरं यस्य = whose garment is the quarters)

Speaker

Śiva (Śambhu)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (ascetic-viraha frame)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śambhu explains he wanders sky-clad, separated from Dākṣāyaṇī (Satī); the atmosphere turns poignant—an ascetic god carrying inner grief amid Himalayan stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu (Śiva)
• Dākṣāyaṇī (Satī)
• Digambara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Renunciation and detachment are portrayed as Śiva’s mode; even cosmic sorrow (viraha) is transmuted into ascetic wandering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra’s sacred terrain, where Śiva’s ascetic presence is narrated as part of the kṣetra’s greatness.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse explains the theological reason for Śiva’s bhikṣā/ascetic wandering.