Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 155

Devanagari script

विरक्तोऽसौ महादेवो मदनो येन वै हतः । तं तोषयामि तपसा शंकरं लोकशंकरम्

Transliteration

virakto'sau mahādevo madano yena vai hataḥ | taṃ toṣayāmi tapasā śaṃkaraṃ lokaśaṃkaram

Translation

وہ مہادیو ویرکت ہے—اسی نے کام دیو (مدن) کو یقیناً ہلاک کیا۔ میں تپسیا کے ذریعے اُس شنکر کو راضی کروں گا جو سارے جہانوں کا خیرخواہ ہے۔

Word by Word

• विरक्तः: detached, dispassionate
• विरक्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-रक्त (कृदन्त; √रञ्ज् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) विशेषण

• असौ: that (he)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• महादेवः: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• महादेवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महā + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• मदनः: Madana (Kāma)
• मदनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मदन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• येन: by whom
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• हतः: killed
• हतः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हत (कृदन्त; √हन् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थक; ‘killed’

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तोषयामि: I please, I propitiate
• तोषयामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √तुष् (धातु) [णिच् causative: तोषय-]
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative)

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• शंकरम्: Śaṅkara
• शंकरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• लोकशंकरम्: benefactor of the world
• लोकशंकरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक + शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (लोकस्य शंकरः)

Speaker

Pārvatī (as quoted within Sūta’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (munis/śaunaka-type setting typical of Purāṇic narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An ascetic devotee resolves to please detached Mahādeva who burned Kāma; Śiva is envisioned as serene, ash-smeared, third eye luminous, seated in Himalayan stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Madana (Kāma)
• Śaṅkara
• Pārvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva is won not by desire but by disciplined austerity and purity; detachment (vairāgya) is central to approaching the divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedārakhaṇḍa frames this devotion within the Himalayan Śaiva landscape associated with Kedāra and tapas-based attainment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) is the stated means for propitiating Śaṅkara.