Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

भवंति तावद्वर्षाणि करकः शिवसद्मनि । इति पौराणवाक्यानि स्मरञ्छैलं शिवालयम्

Transliteration

bhavaṃti tāvadvarṣāṇi karakaḥ śivasadmani | iti paurāṇavākyāni smarañchailaṃ śivālayam

Translation

اتنے ہی برسوں تک اس کا بنانے والا شِو کے دھام سے وابستہ رہتا ہے۔ ان پورانک اقوال کو یاد کرتے ہوئے میں نے پتھر کا شِو مندر تعمیر کیا۔

Word by Word

• bhavanti: are, become
• bhavanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• tāvat: so many, that many
• tāvat: Pramana (Measure/प्रमाण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय/परिमाण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाणवाचक-क्रियाविशेषणम् (quantifying adverb)

• varṣāṇi: years
• varṣāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• karakaḥ: the doer/maker (builder)
• karakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• śivasadmani: in Śiva’s abode/temple
• śivasadmani: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + sadman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: शिवस्य सद्म); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक (quotative particle)

• paurāṇavākyāni: Purāṇic statements
• paurāṇavākyāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paurāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समासः (पौराणानि वाक्यानि); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• smaran: remembering
• smaran: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु) → smarat (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्तः (present active participle/शतृ); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषण-भावे (concomitant action)

• śailam: stone, rock
• śailam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• śivālayam: Śiva-temple
• śivālayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक) + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: शिवस्य आलयः); पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (contextual deduction within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śivālaya (stone prāsāda)

Type: temple

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The devotee, recalling Purāṇic promises, supervises the raising of a stone Śiva temple—quarry stones, masons, pillars, and the sanctum taking shape.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Śivālaya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic teaching motivates concrete pious action: building a durable Śiva-temple brings enduring merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the ‘Śiva’s abode’ refers broadly to the sanctity of Śiva temples.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Constructing a stone Śivālaya is recommended as a high-merit religious undertaking.