Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 164

Devanagari script

इति कथितमशेषं श्रेयसामादिबीजं भवशतदुरितघ्नं ध्वस्तमोहांधकारम् । चरितममरगेयं मन्मथारेरुदारं सततमपि निषेव्यं स्वस्तिमद्भिश्च लोकैः

Transliteration

iti kathitamaśeṣaṃ śreyasāmādibījaṃ bhavaśataduritaghnaṃ dhvastamohāṃdhakāram | caritamamarageyaṃ manmathārerudāraṃ satatamapi niṣevyaṃ svastimadbhiśca lokaiḥ

Translation

如是已尽述一切吉祥之初种：能灭百生之罪、破除迷妄黑暗；乃天众所歌咏之摩摩他之敌——湿婆的崇高行迹，善人当恒常奉持、修行而安吉。

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उक्त्यर्थे (thus)

• kathitam: told / narrated
• kathitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √kath (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण (that which is told)

• aśeṣam: entire, without remainder
• aśeṣam: Karma (Qualifier of object/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण

• śreyasām: of auspicious benefits
• śreyasām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śreyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन

• ādi-bījam: the primal seed
• ādi-bījam: Karma (Apposition to kathitam/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + bīja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष (श्रेयसाम् आदिः बीजम्)

• bhava-śata-durita-ghnam: destroyer of sins of hundreds of births
• bhava-śata-durita-ghnam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक) + durita (प्रातिपदिक) + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (भवशतानां दुरितानां घ्नम्); विशेषण

• dhvasta-moha-andhakāram: that in which the darkness of delusion is destroyed
• dhvasta-moha-andhakāram: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhvasta (कृदन्त) + moha (प्रातिपदिक) + andhakāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (मोहान्धकारः ध्वस्तः यस्मात्/येन); विशेषण

• caritam: the sacred narrative/deeds
• caritam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: carita (कृदन्त; √car)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; भाव/कर्मणि-क्त (deed, life-story)

• amara-geyam: to be sung by the gods
• amara-geyam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amara (प्रातिपदिक) + geya (कृदन्त; √gai)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (अमरैः गेयं); विशेषण

• manmatha-areḥ: of the foe of Manmatha (Śiva)
• manmatha-areḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manmatha (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (मन्मथस्य अरिः = शिवः)

• udāram: noble, exalted
• udāram: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: udāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; विशेषण

• satatam: always
• satatam: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषण-प्रयोग (adverbial accusative: always/continually)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-कार (even/also)

• niṣevyam: to be practiced/served
• niṣevyam: Karma (Predicate adjective of caritam/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ni-√sev (धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्/अनीयर्-अर्थक (gerundive: “to be resorted to”); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन

• svastimadbhiḥ: by the blessed/prosperous
• svastimadbhiḥ: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive sense/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svastimat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचन; विशेषण (prosperous/fortunate)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and)

• lokaiḥ: by people
• lokaiḥ: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive sense/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextually Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Purāṇic frame)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic hymn-scene: devas in a semicircle singing Śiva’s noble deed; Śiva as ‘Manmathāri’ serene yet radiant, with crescent moon and gaṅgā in hair; darkness of ignorance shown as a dissolving shadow behind devotees; a manuscript or palm-leaf text symbolizing the narrated carita.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (Manmathāri)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hearing and internalizing Śiva’s sacred deeds becomes a seed of śreyas—purifying karma across births and dissolving delusion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse functions as a general phalaśruti; the immediately preceding narrative context (ending of the adhyāya) frames the associated tīrtha, but the verse itself highlights Śiva’s carita rather than naming a site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A devotional prescription is implied: to ‘constantly resort to’ (niṣevyam) the teaching—i.e., regular listening/recitation, remembrance, and dhārmic practice aligned with it.