Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

भवंति मलिनाः स्वेदात्तत्कथं शोभनं भवेत । श्रूयतां परमार्थो मे हनूमन्वायुनंदन

Transliteration

bhavaṃti malināḥ svedāttatkathaṃ śobhanaṃ bhaveta | śrūyatāṃ paramārtho me hanūmanvāyunaṃdana

Translation

Durch Schweiß werden sie schmutzig — wie könnte es dann wahrhaft schön sein? Höre meine höchste Lehre, o Hanumān, Sohn des Vāyu.

Word by Word

• भवन्ति: become/are
• भवन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• मलिनाः: dirty
• मलिनाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मलिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; (अध्याहृतः) पटा/वस्त्राणि इत्यादि विशेषण

• स्वेदात्: from sweat
• स्वेदात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; (अध्याहृतः) पिण्डम्/शरीरम् इत्यस्य विशेषण

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• शोभनम्: beautiful
• शोभनम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोभन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण

• भवेत: could be/become
• भवेत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• श्रूयताम्: let (it) be heard
• श्रूयताम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive): 'let it be heard'

• परमार्थः: the highest truth
• परमार्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समास (parama-artha: 'highest truth'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• मे: my
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; enclitic

• हनूमन्: O Hanuman
• हनूमन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हनूमन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• वायुनन्दन: O son of Vayu
• वायुनन्दन: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वायु (प्रातिपदिक) + नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive: 'son of Vāyu'); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet; a guru-like narrator instructing Hanumān within Setukhaṇḍa.

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Hanumān

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn moment: the teacher pauses after describing sweat’s impurity and invites Hanumān to hear the highest truth; Hanumān’s posture shifts into deeper reverence, hands folded, eyes lowered.

Characters & Entities

• Hanumān
• Vāyu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It pivots from bodily critique to paramārtha—urging the seeker to hear liberating truth rather than chase physical beauty.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu (Setubandha/Rāmeśvaram) frames the chapter; the verse functions as spiritual instruction within that māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it introduces a teaching section (śravaṇa of paramārtha).