Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 164

Devanagari script

तस्माद्भवद्भिर्योद्धव्यं स्वामिकार्यभरक्षमैः । एवमुक्तास्तदा तेन वृत्रेणापि महात्मना

Transliteration

tasmādbhavadbhiryoddhavyaṃ svāmikāryabharakṣamaiḥ | evamuktāstadā tena vṛtreṇāpi mahātmanā

Translation

เพราะฉะนั้น พวกท่านจงรบเถิด ผู้สามารถแบกรับภาระแห่งกิจของนายตนได้ ดังนี้มหาตมะวฤตระได้กล่าวแก่พวกเขาในกาลนั้น

Word by Word

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu/Logical connector (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात्-इत्यव्ययप्रयोगः (ablatival adverb: 'therefore/from that')

• bhavadbhiḥ: by you (honorific, plural)
• bhavadbhiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental) बहुवचनम्; आदरार्थे सर्वनाम

• yoddhavyam: must be fought
• yoddhavyam: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yudh (धातु) + tavya (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive/obligative); नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचनम्; विधेय (ought to be fought)

• svāmi-kārya-bhara-kṣamaiḥ: by those capable of bearing the master’s task/burden
• svāmi-kārya-bhara-kṣamaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svāmin (प्रातिपदिक) + kārya (प्रातिपदिक) + bhara (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd) बहुवचनम्; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (स्वामिनः कार्यस्य भरं क्षमाः)

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb: 'thus')

• uktāḥ: having been told/addressed
• uktāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु) → ukta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st) बहुवचनम्

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• tena: by him
• tena: Kartṛ/Agent of speech (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental) एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• vṛtreṇa: by Vṛtra
• vṛtreṇa: Kartṛ/Agent (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛtra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd) एकवचनम्

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: 'also/even')

• mahātmanā: by the great-souled one
• mahātmanā: Kartṛ/Agent (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd) एकवचनम्; कर्मधारयः (महान् आत्मा यस्य)

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa) reporting Vṛtra’s speech

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra-kṣetra (contextual frame)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vṛtra, towering and resolute, exhorts his forces; warriors tighten armor and lift weapons, accepting the ‘burden’ of their cause; banners ripple, mountains loom faintly in the distance.

Characters & Entities

• Vṛtra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes steadfast responsibility—bearing the rightful burden of one’s duty and allegiance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader textual setting is Kedārakhaṇḍa (Kedāra sacred geography), but this line is narrative and ethical rather than a tīrtha eulogy.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an instruction to fight and a narrative transition.