Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

राजानं नेतुकामास्ते पाशहस्ता महाभयाः । यावत्समागता याम्या राजानं ददृशुस्त्वरात्

Transliteration

rājānaṃ netukāmāste pāśahastā mahābhayāḥ | yāvatsamāgatā yāmyā rājānaṃ dadṛśustvarāt

Translation

بادشاہ کو لے جانے کی خواہش میں، ہاتھوں میں پھندے تھامے وہ نہایت ہولناک یم دوت تیزی سے بڑھے؛ اور پہنچتے ہی فوراً بادشاہ کو دیکھ لیا۔

Word by Word

• rājānam: the king
• rājānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• netu-kāmāḥ: desiring to lead away
• netu-kāmāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nī (धातु) + tumun (तुमुन्) + kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; तुमुनन्त (नेतुम्) + काम (इच्छा) इति तत्पुरुषः; विशेषण (ते/याम्याः इति विशेष्य)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• pāśa-hastāḥ: having nooses in their hands
• pāśa-hastāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (पाशः हस्ते येषां ते)

• mahā-bhayāḥ: very terrifying
• mahā-bhayāḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (महच्च तत् भयम्)

• yāvat: when/as soon as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (correlative: as long as/when)

• samāgatāḥ: had arrived
• samāgatāḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-gam (धातु) + ta (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त) कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• yāmyāḥ: Yama's (messengers)
• yāmyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yāmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; 'यमसम्बन्धिनः' (Yama's)

• rājānam: the king
• rājānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• dadṛśuḥ: saw
• dadṛśuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• tvarāt: in haste/quickly
• tvarāt: Hetu (Cause/Manner/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; हेतौ/निमित्ते (ablative of cause/manner)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied audience (Viprāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yamadūtas—terrifying, nooses raised—rush into the temple courtyard and behold the king near the liṅga; the king appears composed, lit by lamps, while the messengers loom in shadow.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Yamadūtas
• King (nṛpa/rājā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly power cannot shield one from death’s summons, yet the narrative sets the stage for how devotion at a holy place reshapes that encounter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kedāra Śiva-sthāna, where the king is encountered by Yama’s agents.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a narrative description of Yama’s messengers approaching.