Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

सूर्यवर्चेति यक्षेंद्रश्चतुराशीतिकोटिपः । किमर्थं मानुषे लोके भवद्भिर्जन्म कार्यते

Transliteration

sūryavarceti yakṣeṃdraścaturāśītikoṭipaḥ | kimarthaṃ mānuṣe loke bhavadbhirjanma kāryate

Translation

“苏利耶瓦尔迦啊，”夜叉之主、统领八十四俱胝者说道，“你们为何要在人的世界受生？”

Word by Word

• sūryavarce: O Sūryavarcas
• sūryavarce: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūryavarc (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (name/title)

• iti: (thus)
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (quotative particle)

• yakṣendraḥ: lord of the Yakṣas
• yakṣendraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakṣa + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'yakṣāṇām indraḥ'

• caturāśīti-koṭipaḥ: lord of eighty-four crores
• caturāśīti-koṭipaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturāśīti + koṭi + pa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'caturāśīti-koṭīnām paḥ (patiḥ)'

• kimartham: why, for what purpose
• kimartham: Hetu (Reason/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (interrogative adverb): 'for what purpose/why'

• mānuṣe: human
• mānuṣe: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying 'loke')

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन

• bhavadbhiḥ: by you (honored ones)
• bhavadbhiḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavant (प्रातिपदिक-सर्वनाम/आदरार्थ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), बहुवचन (honorific 'you all')

• janma: birth
• janma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• kāryate: is done, is undertaken
• kāryate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive)

Speaker

Śrī Caṇḍikā (narrating; direct speech attributed to Yakṣendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Yakṣa-king (guardian-like, regal, slightly fierce) addresses Sūryavarcā; behind him an immense host symbolizing ‘eighty-four crores’; the tone is inquisitive, not hostile.

Characters & Entities

• Yakṣendra (lord of Yakṣas)
• Sūryavarcā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Birth is not random in Purāṇic thought; it is undertaken for a dharmic mission and the unfolding of cosmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse centers on the purpose of incarnation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.