Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

तपसो हि विना नास्ति सिद्धिः कुत्रापि शोभने । सर्वासां कर्मसिद्धीनां मूलं हि तप उच्यते

Transliteration

tapaso hi vinā nāsti siddhiḥ kutrāpi śobhane | sarvāsāṃ karmasiddhīnāṃ mūlaṃ hi tapa ucyate

Translation

O Glückverheißende! Ohne Tapas (heilige Askese) gibt es nirgends Erlangung; wahrlich, Tapas wird als die Wurzel des Erfolges in allen Handlungen verkündet.

Word by Word

• तपसः: without austerity (from austerity)
• तपसः: Apadāna (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; अपादान (ablative)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: causal/emphatic)

• विना: without
• विना: Apadāna (Ablative-relation/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: उपपद-अव्यय (preposition-like indeclinable governing 5th case)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation)

• अस्ति: is
• अस्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• सिद्धिः: success, attainment
• सिद्धिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• कुत्र: anywhere
• कुत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कुत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative/indefinite adverb: “anywhere/where”)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/सम्भावना-अव्यय (particle: “even/also”)

• शोभने: O beautiful one
• शोभने: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोभन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; सम्बोधन/अधिकरण; (सम्बोधनार्थे प्रयोगः—“हे शोभने”)

• सर्वासाम्: of all
• सर्वासाम्: Sambandha (Genitive-Qualifier/षष्ठी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘कर्मसिद्धीनाम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• कर्म-सिद्धीनाम्: of the successes of actions
• कर्म-सिद्धीनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + सिद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (कर्मणां सिद्धयः)

• मूलम्: root, basis
• मूलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘मूलम्’ इत्यस्य विशेष्य/समानााधिकरण

• उच्यते: is said/called
• उच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa framing)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An instructive moment: the teaching that tapas alone is the universal key to siddhi, presented as a calm, authoritative upadeśa.

Characters & Entities

• Tapas
• Śobhane (address to Devī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Discipline and austerity (tapas) are the inner power that ripens all dharmic effort into true accomplishment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is specified; the verse is a general dhārmic principle rather than a tīrtha-māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is implicit: cultivate tapas as the essential support for any rite, vow, or spiritual undertaking.