Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

अतो जन्मजरां जेतुं यदीच्छसि वरानने । शरणं व्रज सर्वेशं मृत्युंजयमुमापतिम्

Transliteration

ato janmajarāṃ jetuṃ yadīcchasi varānane | śaraṇaṃ vraja sarveśaṃ mṛtyuṃjayamumāpatim

Translation

Darum, o Schönangesichtige, wenn du Geburt und Alter besiegen willst, nimm Zuflucht beim Herrn aller: Mṛtyuṃjaya, dem Bezwinger des Todes, dem Gemahl Umās.

Word by Word

• अतः: therefore; from this
• अतः: Sambandha (Logical connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), निपात/सम्बन्धबोधक (particle: ‘therefore/from this’)

• जन्म-जराम्: birth and old age
• जन्म-जराम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f., as head ‘jarā’), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); द्वन्द्व-समास (copulative): ‘birth and old age’ as a pair

• जेतुम्: to conquer
• जेतुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जि (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), अर्थः—कर्तुम्/जितुम् (to conquer)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, शर्तबोधक (conditional particle: if)

• इच्छसि: you desire
• इच्छसि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष्/इच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• वरानने: O fair-faced one
• वरानने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर-आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास: ‘beautiful-faced (one)’

• शरणम्: refuge
• शरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• व्रज: go; take (refuge)
• व्रज: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्रज् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• सर्वेशम्: the Lord of all
• सर्वेशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘of all, the lord’

• मृत्युंजयम्: the conqueror of death
• मृत्युंजयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक) + जय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘conqueror of death’

• उमापतिम्: the husband of Umā
• उमापतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उमा (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘husband of Umā’

Speaker

Śiva-yogin (teacher/guru speaking to the queen)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: varānane (a fair-faced female addressee)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A gentle guru-like speaker addresses a fair-faced seeker, pointing inward toward the all-lord Mṛtyuṃjaya; Śiva is envisioned serene, ash-smeared, with crescent moon and trident, offering abhaya (fearlessness).

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Mṛtyuṃjaya
• Umā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Conquest of life’s deepest fears (birth, aging) is taught through śaraṇāgati—taking refuge in Śiva as Mṛtyuṃjaya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; the focus is on the universal refuge in Śiva rather than a particular sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A devotional prescription is implied: śaraṇa-gamana (taking refuge), commonly expressed through prayer, japa, and contemplation of Mṛtyuṃjaya.