Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

गत्वा शंकरमुद्दिश्य तपस्तेपे सुदुष्करम् । त्रिकालमर्चयञ्छंभुमुपवासी जितेंद्रियः

Transliteration

gatvā śaṃkaramuddiśya tapastepe suduṣkaram | trikālamarcayañchaṃbhumupavāsī jiteṃdriyaḥ

Translation

ครั้นไปถึงแล้ว เขาตั้งพระศังกรไว้ในดวงใจ บำเพ็ญตบะอันยากยิ่ง บูชาพระศัมภูในสามสันธยา ถืออุโบสถ และข่มอินทรีย์ให้สงบ

Word by Word

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Converb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययवत् — ‘having gone’

• शंकरम्: Śaṅkara
• शंकरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — ‘Śaṅkara’

• उद्दिश्य: intending/with reference to
• उद्दिश्य: Kriya-viseshana (Converb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + √दिश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययवत् — ‘having aimed at/with reference to’

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — ‘austerity’

• तेपे: he performed (austerity)
• तेपे: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √तप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद — ‘he performed austerity’

• सुदुष्करम्: very difficult
• सुदुष्करम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (अव्यय-उपसर्ग) + दुष्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — ‘very difficult’ (qualifying तपः)

• त्रिकालम्: thrice daily
• त्रिकालम्: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास, क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial) — ‘at the three times (daily)’

• अर्चयन्: worshipping
• अर्चयन्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘worshipping’

• शंभुम्: Śambhu (Śiva)
• शंभुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन — ‘Śambhu (Śiva)’

• उपवासी: fasting
• उपवासी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपवासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — ‘fasting’

• जितेन्द्रियः: self-controlled
• जितेन्द्रियः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जित (कृदन्त from √जि) + इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन — ‘one whose senses are conquered’

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gandhamādana tapas-bhūmi (Setu sphere)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a forested mountainside, the sage sits facing a simple Śiva-liṅga or imagined Śaṅkara, offering water and bilva at dawn, noon, and dusk; his body lean from fasting, eyes steady, senses restrained.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara
• Śambhu (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva-bhakti expressed through disciplined tapas becomes the means by which sacred geography and tīrtha-merit are revealed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within Setukhaṇḍa’s narrative frame, the southern sacred region leading to Setu is implied; the focus here is Śiva-directed austerity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Trikāla-arcana (worship three times daily), upavāsa (fasting), and indriya-jaya (sense-control) as austerities.