Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

एतद्राज्ञो वचो भीमस्तृषा व्याकुललोचनः । अश्रुत्वैव विवेशासौ कुण्डमध्ये जलेच्छया

Transliteration

etadrājño vaco bhīmastṛṣā vyākulalocanaḥ | aśrutvaiva viveśāsau kuṇḍamadhye jalecchayā

Translation

毗摩因渴而目光焦躁，竟不听国王之言；为求得水，他径直走入池塘中央。

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘vacaḥ’ विशेषणम्

• rājñaḥ: of the king
• rājñaḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• vacaḥ: words
• vacaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• bhīmaḥ: Bhīma
• bhīmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhīma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• tṛṣā: with thirst
• tṛṣā: Karana (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tṛṣ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; हेतौ/कारणे (by/with thirst)

• vyākula-locanaḥ: with agitated eyes
• vyākula-locanaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyākula (प्रातिपदिक) + locana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (vyākulāni locanāni yasya = whose eyes are agitated)

• aśrutvā: without hearing
• aśrutvā: Purvakala (Prior action negated/पूर्वक्रिया-अभाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धा. √श्रु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त (absolutive/gerund) with privative a-; अर्थ: अश्रुत्वा = without hearing

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle); एव = just/indeed

• viveśa: entered
• viveśa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-viś (धा. √विश्)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• asau: that man/he
• asau: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; ‘bhīmaḥ’ एव

• kuṇḍa-madhye: in the middle of the pond
• kuṇḍa-madhye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + madhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (kuṇḍasya madhye = in the middle of the pond)

• jala-icchayā: out of desire for water
• jala-icchayā: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक) + icchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (jalasya icchayā = by desire for water)

Speaker

Sūta (narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Bhīma, eyes strained with thirst, pushes forward into the pond despite Yudhiṣṭhira’s warning; the water surface breaks around his legs; companions look alarmed.

Characters & Entities

• Bhīma
• Yudhiṣṭhira (implied as king)
• Kuṇḍa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Thirst and impulse can eclipse discernment; at sacred places, discipline is itself devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sanctified kuṇḍa whose waters are not to be treated as ordinary.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, the earlier instruction is violated—he enters the pond instead of drawing water out and washing outside.