Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

एनं च वीक्ष्य वल्गन्तं तं विद्यान्मृत्युमागतम् । ऋक्षवानरयुग्यस्थो गायन्यो दक्षिणां दिशम्

Transliteration

enaṃ ca vīkṣya valgantaṃ taṃ vidyānmṛtyumāgatam | ṛkṣavānarayugyastho gāyanyo dakṣiṇāṃ diśam

Translation

إذا رآه يقفز ويضطرب فليعلم أن الموت قد أقبل. وكذلك من يُرى راكبًا على مركبةٍ تجرّها الدببةُ والقرود، يُغنّي متجهًا إلى الجنوب، فذلك نذيرٌ أيضًا.

Word by Word

• enam: this (one)
• enam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचन; निकटवाचक सर्वनाम

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

• vīkṣya: having seen
• vīkṣya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vi + √īkṣ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund) = having looked/seen

• valgantam: leaping, prancing
• valgantam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √valg (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन

• tam: him/that
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचन

• vidyāt: should know
• vidyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vid (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mṛtyum: death
• mṛtyum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचन

• āgatam: arrived, come
• āgatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + √gam (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; 'come/arrived'

• ṛkṣavānarayugyasthaḥ: situated on a bear-and-monkey team/vehicle
• ṛkṣavānarayugyasthaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + vānara (प्रातिपदिक) + yugya (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक from √sthā)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative) एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—'ṛkṣa-vānara-yugye sthaḥ' = seated/standing on a bear-and-monkey team/vehicle

• gāyanī: a female singer
• gāyanī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gāyanī (प्रातिपदिक; feminine agent noun from √gai)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative) एकवचन; 'female singer'

• u: indeed/and
• u: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: u (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; emphasis/continuation)

• dakṣiṇām: southern
• dakṣiṇām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying diśam)

• diśam: direction
• diśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचन

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A surreal dream-chariot: a figure singing while riding a conveyance drawn by bears and monkeys, moving south; another ominous leaping figure appears as a herald of death.

Characters & Entities

• Mṛtyu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic teaching uses vivid symbols to awaken detachment and urgency in sādhana when mortality-signs manifest.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; it continues the catalog of death-omens.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the implied response is heightened yogic composure and practice upon recognizing such signs.