Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

गणिकार्थमुपादाय धावमानो गृहं प्रति । तदा प्रस्खलितो भूमौ निपपात च तत्क्षणात्

Transliteration

gaṇikārthamupādāya dhāvamāno gṛhaṃ prati | tadā praskhalito bhūmau nipapāta ca tatkṣaṇāt

Translation

గణిక కోసం ఆ వస్తువులను మోసుకొని ఆమె ఇంటివైపు పరుగెత్తాడు; అప్పుడు నేలపై జారి అదే క్షణంలో పడిపోయాడు।

Word by Word

• gaṇikā-artham: for the courtesan’s sake / for money for a courtesan
• gaṇikā-artham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇikā (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गणिकायाः अर्थः = गणिकार्थः)

• upādāya: having taken / taking up
• upādāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: upa-√dā (धाातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund); उपसर्गः उप; अर्थः—‘गृहीत्वा/आदाय’

• dhāvamānaḥ: running
• dhāvamānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dhāv (धाव् धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्ययः), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग; कर्तरि प्रयोगः

• gṛham: home
• gṛham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• prati: towards
• prati: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Directional/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prati (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्ग/अव्यय; दिशार्थक-निपातः (‘towards’)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• praskhalitaḥ: having slipped / slipped
• praskhalitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√skhal (स्खल् धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययः), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग; कर्तरि—‘स्खलितः’

• bhūmau: on the ground
• bhūmau: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• nipapāta: fell down
• nipapāta: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√pat (पत् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

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

• tat-kṣaṇāt: at that very moment / immediately
• tat-kṣaṇāt: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time-point/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (तत् क्षणः)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), speaking to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra/Kedāranātha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A man running with a bundle of perfumes and flowers slips on a dusty path and falls; offerings scatter across the ground, foreshadowing a spiritual reversal.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṇikā (courtesan)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A sudden reversal can become the doorway to reflection; karmic consequences often interrupt adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative unfolds within Kedārakhaṇḍa’s Kedāra-oriented teaching frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes the precipitating event (a fall) that leads to inner change.