Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

आलंबकस्तथा देहे पंचधा सोम उच्यते । क्लेदकः क्लेदयत्यन्नं नित्यं पक्वाशये स्थितः

Transliteration

ālaṃbakastathā dehe paṃcadhā soma ucyate | kledakaḥ kledayatyannaṃ nityaṃ pakvāśaye sthitaḥ

Translation

దేహంలో ఆలంబకాది ద్వారా సోముడు ఐదు విధాలుగా కార్యం చేస్తాడని చెప్పబడింది. క్లేదకుడు పక్వాశయంలో స్థితుడై నిత్యం అన్నాన్ని తడిపి మృదువుగా చేస్తాడు.

Word by Word

• ālaṃbakaḥ: the supporter (ālaṃbaka)
• ālaṃbakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ālaṃbaka (कृदन्त; √lamb धातु, ā- उपसर्ग)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि-ण्वुल् प्रत्ययान्त

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: likewise)

• dehe: in the body
• dehe: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• paṃcadhā: fivefold
• paṃcadhā: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paṃcadhā (अव्यय)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: ‘in five ways’)

• somaḥ: Soma (cooling principle)
• somaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: soma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ucyate: is said/called
• ucyate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• kledakaḥ: the moistener (kledaka)
• kledakaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kledaka (कृदन्त; √klid धातु)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kledayati: moistens
• kledayati: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √klid (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच्-प्रयोजक (causative: ‘moisten’)

• annam: food
• annam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nityam (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• pakvāśaye: in the pakvāśaya
• pakvāśaye: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakva-āśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• sthitaḥ: situated
• sthitaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative convention)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A fivefold Soma depicted as five cool lunar streams within the body; Kledaka shown moistening food in the digestive tract, balancing the heat of digestion.

Characters & Entities

• Soma
• Kledaka
• Ālambaka
• Pakvāśaya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes reverent understanding of the body as a divinely sustained system, where Soma nourishes and stabilizes life through ordered functions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tirtha is directly praised in this verse; it is a doctrinal passage on the body’s sustaining principles within the Skanda Purana’s teaching style.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is descriptive (śāstric explanation) rather than prescribing vrata, dāna, snāna, or japa.