Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

तृड्बुभुक्षापरीतांगः क्वचित्तिष्ठति रारटन् । विण्मूत्रभक्षणाद्यं च मोहाद्बालः समाचरेत्

Transliteration

tṛḍbubhukṣāparītāṃgaḥ kvacittiṣṭhati rāraṭan | viṇmūtrabhakṣaṇādyaṃ ca mohādbālaḥ samācaret

Translation

إذا غلبه العطش والجوع وقف الطفل أحياناً يصرخ باكياً؛ وبسبب الوهم قد يقدم حتى على أفعال كأكل الغائط وشرب البول.

Word by Word

• tṛṭ-bubhukṣā-parīta-aṅgaḥ: whose body is overcome by thirst and hunger
• tṛṭ-bubhukṣā-parīta-aṅgaḥ: Visheshya to implied bālaḥ (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛṭ (प्रातिपदिक) + bubhukṣā (प्रातिपदिक) + parīta (कृदन्त; √i (धातु) उपसर्ग परि-, क्त) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—तृष्णा-भूखाभ्यां परीतानि अङ्गानि यस्य सः

• kvacit: sometimes
• kvacit: Desha-Kala (Adverbial/देश-काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देश/कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb: “sometimes/somewhere”)

• tiṣṭhati: stands/remains
• tiṣṭhati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धा)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• rāraṭan: crying/wailing
• rāraṭan: Karta (Agent participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √rāraṭ (धातु; onomatopoeic)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/Present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘रारटन्’ = रारट्-शतृ

• viṇ-mūtra-bhakṣaṇa-ādyam: eating feces and urine, etc.
• viṇ-mūtra-bhakṣaṇa-ādyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṇ (प्रातिपदिक) + mūtra (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समाहार/निर्देशार्थः—‘विण्मूत्रभक्षणम् आदिः यस्य तत्’ (आदि-शब्देन अन्यान्यपि)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Connector (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• mohāt: from delusion
• mohāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: moha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (ablative of cause)

• bālaḥ: the child
• bālaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• samācaret: may do/practise
• samācaret: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + √car (धा)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative convention)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A small child crying from hunger and thirst, standing unsteadily; caretakers rushing; symbolic depiction of moha as a faint veil or dark cloud near the child’s head; the ‘impure acts’ suggested indirectly (averted gaze, discarded vessel) rather than graphic realism.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

From the very start of life, moha and helplessness dominate; therefore one should cultivate discernment and seek the enduring good rather than fleeting comforts.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No holy site is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this is a descriptive verse used to strengthen vairāgya (dispassion).