Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

मयि तिष्ठति केनापि शस्त्रग्राह्यं न क्षत्रियैः । स्वधर्मशपथो वोऽस्तु मृते ग्राह्यं ततो मयि

Transliteration

mayi tiṣṭhati kenāpi śastragrāhyaṃ na kṣatriyaiḥ | svadharmaśapatho vo'stu mṛte grāhyaṃ tato mayi

Translation

Chừng nào ta còn đứng đây, các kṣatriya không được cầm vũ khí chống lại bất kỳ ai. Lời thề theo chính dharma của các ngươi hãy là: chỉ sau khi ta bị hạ sát, các ngươi mới được cầm binh khí chống ta.

Word by Word

• mayi: in me/on me
• mayi: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); first-person pronoun

• tiṣṭhati: stands/remains
• tiṣṭhati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (लट्/Present), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Prathama-puruṣa (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• kena: by whom/with what
• kena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (पुं/नपुंसक), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन); interrogative pronoun

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात); here: concessive/emphatic 'even' (अपि)

• śastra-grāhyam: seizable/attackable by weapons
• śastra-grāhyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śastra (प्रातिपदिक) + grāhya (√grah + yat/ya, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन); समास: शस्त्रेण ग्राह्यम् (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध-अव्यय)

• kṣatriyaiḥ: by the kṣatriyas/warriors
• kṣatriyaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣatriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• svadharma-śapathaḥ: oath of one’s own duty
• svadharma-śapathaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + śapatha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); समास: स्वस्य धर्मः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + (स्वधर्मस्य शपथः) (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• vaḥ: for you/of you
• vaḥ: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive/Dative (6th/4th-षष्ठी/चतुर्थी), Plural (बहुवचन); enclitic pronoun

• astu: let it be
• astu: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्/Imperative/benedictive sense), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Prathama-puruṣa (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• mṛte: when dead/after death
• mṛte: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛta (√mṛ + kta, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); used adverbially: 'when (I am) dead'

• grāhyam: to be seized/attackable
• grāhyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: grāhya (√grah + yat/ya, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन)

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable adverb (अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण): 'then/thereafter/from that'

• mayi: in me/on me
• mayi: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Warrior-speaker within the narrative (Bhīma implied); framed by Sūta’s narration

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Guptakṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A commanding figure stands as a living boundary; warriors lower weapons, hands paused mid-draw, as if an invisible dharma-field prevents aggression.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣatriya
• Svadharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma restrains even warfare: vows and rules of engagement are upheld as sacred obligations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not directly; the ethical posture is embedded in the Guptakṣetra-centered episode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual; an ethical prescription is given—an oath aligned with svadharma.