Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

सूर्यवर्चेति यक्षेंद्रश्चतुराशीतिकोटिपः । किमर्थं मानुषे लोके भवद्भिर्जन्म कार्यते

Transliteration

sūryavarceti yakṣeṃdraścaturāśītikoṭipaḥ | kimarthaṃ mānuṣe loke bhavadbhirjanma kāryate

Translation

“O Sūryavarcā,” wika ng panginoon ng mga Yakṣa, kumandante ng walumpu’t apat na krore, “sa anong layon ninyo isasagawa ang kapanganakan sa daigdig ng tao?”

Word by Word

• sūryavarce: O Sūryavarcas
• sūryavarce: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūryavarc (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (name/title)

• iti: (thus)
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (quotative particle)

• yakṣendraḥ: lord of the Yakṣas
• yakṣendraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakṣa + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'yakṣāṇām indraḥ'

• caturāśīti-koṭipaḥ: lord of eighty-four crores
• caturāśīti-koṭipaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturāśīti + koṭi + pa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'caturāśīti-koṭīnām paḥ (patiḥ)'

• kimartham: why, for what purpose
• kimartham: Hetu (Reason/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (interrogative adverb): 'for what purpose/why'

• mānuṣe: human
• mānuṣe: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying 'loke')

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन

• bhavadbhiḥ: by you (honored ones)
• bhavadbhiḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavant (प्रातिपदिक-सर्वनाम/आदरार्थ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), बहुवचन (honorific 'you all')

• janma: birth
• janma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• kāryate: is done, is undertaken
• kāryate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive)

Speaker

Śrī Caṇḍikā (narrating; direct speech attributed to Yakṣendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Yakṣa-king (guardian-like, regal, slightly fierce) addresses Sūryavarcā; behind him an immense host symbolizing ‘eighty-four crores’; the tone is inquisitive, not hostile.

Characters & Entities

• Yakṣendra (lord of Yakṣas)
• Sūryavarcā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Birth is not random in Purāṇic thought; it is undertaken for a dharmic mission and the unfolding of cosmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse centers on the purpose of incarnation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.