Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

यः कुर्याच्छोभनधियं स मूढः स च दुर्मतिः । बहुच्छिद्रघटाकारे देहेऽस्मिन्नशुचौ सदा

Transliteration

yaḥ kuryācchobhanadhiyaṃ sa mūḍhaḥ sa ca durmatiḥ | bahucchidraghaṭākāre dehe'sminnaśucau sadā

Translation

Wer meint, dieser Körper sei etwas Schönes und Bewundernswertes, ist wahrlich verblendet und von verkehrtem Verständnis; denn dieser Körper ist stets unrein, wie ein Topf voller vieler Löcher.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who (he who)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• kuryāt: should do / would make
• kuryāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śobhana-dhiyam: good understanding / noble thought
• śobhana-dhiyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śobhana (प्रातिपदिक) + dhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (śobhanā dhīḥ = good understanding)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संकेत-सर्वनाम (demonstrative pronoun)

• mūḍhaḥ: deluded / foolish
• mūḍhaḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūḍha (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-विशेषण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (predicate adjective)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• durmatiḥ: of bad intellect / ill-minded
• durmatiḥ: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durmati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; गुणवाचक-नाम (bad-mindedness/person of bad mind)

• bahu-chidra-ghaṭa-ākāre: in/with the form of a pot full of holes
• bahu-chidra-ghaṭa-ākāre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + chidra (प्रातिपदिक) + ghaṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + ākāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; विशेषण; तत्पुरुष-समास (bahūni chidrāṇi yasya ghaṭasya ākāraḥ)

• dehe: in the body
• dehe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; निर्देश-सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• aśucau: impure
• aśucau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aśuci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

An instructing sage/teacher figure in the Setukhaṇḍa dialogue (contextual; exact speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu (Setubandha/Rāmeśvara-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija (addressed as ‘dvija’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher addresses a grieving dvija, pointing to a cracked, many-holed pot as a metaphor for the body; the setting suggests a coastal tīrtha with pilgrims and distant temple silhouettes.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cultivate detachment: the body is transient and inherently impure, so pride or fascination in it is delusion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly the Setu region (Rāmasetu) context frames the teaching, though this verse itself is philosophical rather than geographical.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it prepares the mind for proper rites by discouraging worldly attachment.