Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 86

Devanagari script

देहो यथा स्मदादीनां स्वकालेन विलीयते । ब्रह्मादि मशकांतानां स्वकालाल्लीयते तथा

Transliteration

deho yathā smadādīnāṃ svakālena vilīyate | brahmādi maśakāṃtānāṃ svakālāllīyate tathā

Translation

Wie der Körper von Menschen wie uns zu seiner Zeit vergeht, so lösen sich auch die Körper aller—von Brahmā bis zur Mücke—auf, wenn ihre Stunde gekommen ist.

Word by Word

• देहः: the body
• देहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• यथा: just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकार-सूचक (as)

• अस्मद्-आदीनाम्: of us and others
• अस्मद्-आदीनाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (of us and others)

• स्व-कालेन: by its own time (when its time comes)
• स्व-कालेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (स्वः कालः = one’s own time)

• विलीयते: dissolves
• विलीयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + ली (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• ब्रह्मादि: Brahmā and others
• ब्रह्मादि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (समूहवाचक); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (Brahmā etc.)

• मशक-अन्तानाम्: of (beings) up to mosquitoes
• मशक-अन्तानाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मशक (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (मशकान्तानाम् = up to mosquitoes; i.e., of those ending with mosquitoes)

• स्व-कालात्: from/at its own time
• स्व-कालात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (from one’s own time)

• लीयते: dissolves
• लीयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ली (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार-अव्यय (so/likewise)

Speaker

Puṇyakīrti (deduced continuation of speech)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Antyeṣṭi-ghāṭs)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: seekers/ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark yet calm scene at a Kāśī cremation ghat: funeral pyres, flowing Gaṅgā, and above them a cosmic montage showing Brahmā and a mosquito both fading—time equalizes all.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All embodied life is impermanent; recognizing this fosters detachment and a turn toward the deathless reality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī setting, traditionally associated with reflection on mortality and liberation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is a contemplation on kāla (time) and the perishability of bodies.