Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

ततस्ते कामरूपे या कला नाथ प्रवर्तते । राजवर्धनराज्ञा याऽराधिता च जनैः पुरा

Transliteration

tataste kāmarūpe yā kalā nātha pravartate | rājavardhanarājñā yā'rādhitā ca janaiḥ purā

Translation

ฉะนั้น ข้าแต่พระนาถ ขอให้ “กลา/พลังศักดิ์สิทธิ์” แห่งพระองค์ซึ่งดำรงอยู่ในกามรูปะ—ซึ่งครั้งโบราณพระราชาราชวรรธนะและมหาชนได้บูชา—จงสถิตมั่นอยู่ ณ ที่นี้

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha/Adhikarana (Contextual adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे: 'then/from there'

• ते: of you; your
• ते: Sambandha (Genitive/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• कामरूपे: in Kāmarūpa
• कामरूपे: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कामरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• या: which
• या: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-यः/या (relative pronoun)

• कला: power/portion; (divine) kalā
• कला: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• नाथ: O Lord
• नाथ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• प्रवर्तते: proceeds; is active
• प्रवर्तते: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र√वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• राजवर्धनराज्ञा: by King Rājavardhana
• राजवर्धनराज्ञा: Karana/Agent (by whom)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजवर्धन-राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: राजवर्धनस्य राजा (genitive tatpurusha); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• या: which
• या: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• आराधिता: was worshipped
• आराधिता: Kriya (Predicate/participial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ√राध् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• जनैः: by people
• जनैः: Karana/Agent (by people)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (Plural)

• पुरा: formerly; in the past
• पुरा: Kala-adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) = temporal adverb

Speaker

Narrator (devotee/sage) petitioning the deity

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāmarūpa-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A supplicant addresses the Lord, invoking the Kāmarūpa ‘kalā’ once revered by King Rājavardhana and ancient people; the landscape hints at a northeastern kṣetra with riverine plains and temple precincts.

Characters & Entities

• Kāmarūpa
• Rājavardhana (king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A holy place is sanctified by the continuing presence (kalā) of the deity and by the lineage of prior worship performed there.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāmarūpa is explicitly named as the locus where the deity’s kalā is said to be active and traditionally worshipped.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Ārādhana (propitiatory worship) of the deity’s kalā in Kāmarūpa is implied through the example of the king and the people.