Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

वव्रे महासुरो मृत्युं ब्रह्माणं मानमोहितः । ब्रह्मा प्रोचे ततस्तं च तथेति हरवाक्यतः

Transliteration

vavre mahāsuro mṛtyuṃ brahmāṇaṃ mānamohitaḥ | brahmā proce tatastaṃ ca tatheti haravākyataḥ

Translation

غرور کے فریب میں مبتلا اُس عظیم اسور نے موت کے بارے میں برہما سے ور مانگا۔ تب ہَر کے کلام کے مطابق برہما نے اس سے کہا: “تَتھاستُو—یوں ہی ہو۔”

Word by Word

• vavre: chose; asked for
• vavre: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपदम्; अर्थः—वव्रे/वृणुते (chose/asked for)

• mahā-asuraḥ: the great demon
• mahā-asuraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + asura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—महान् असुरः (a great asura)

• mṛtyum: death
• mṛtyum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• brahmāṇam: Brahmā
• brahmāṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; विशेष्यः—ब्रह्मा (Brahmā)

• māna-mohitaḥ: deluded by pride
• māna-mohitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: māna (प्रातिपदिक) + mohita (कृदन्त; √muh)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषभावः—माननेन मोहितः (deluded by pride)

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• proce: said
• proce: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्; प्र-उपसर्गः; अर्थः—प्रोचे (said/spoke)

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययम्; काल/क्रमवाचक (then/thereupon)

• tam: to him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• tathā: thus
• tathā: Adverbial (Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; प्रकारवाचक (thus/so)

• iti: saying
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक-अव्ययम् (quotative)

• hara-vākyataḥ: according to Hara’s words
• hara-vākyataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक) + vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी-तत्पुरुषात् निष्पन्नम् अव्ययम्; -तः (ablatival adverb): हरस्य वाक्यात् (from/according to Hara's words)

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa, per Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (addressed in nearby verses of the passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā, seated on a lotus-throne, pronounces the boon to the proud asura; an unseen Śivaic ordinance (‘Hara’s word’) frames the moment, with ominous cosmic stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Tāraka (Mahāsura)
• Brahmā
• Hara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Boons operate within higher divine governance; pride blinds the seeker to the inevitable moral consequences embedded in the grant.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse emphasizes divine hierarchy (Brahmā acting under Śiva’s overarching will).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.