Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

जपतस्तस्य विप्रस्य इंद्रियाणि लयं ययुः । केवलं परमानंदस्वरूपोऽसावभूत्क्षणात्

Transliteration

japatastasya viprasya iṃdriyāṇi layaṃ yayuḥ | kevalaṃ paramānaṃdasvarūpo'sāvabhūtkṣaṇāt

Translation

Während jener Brāhmaṇa seine Japa fortsetzte, lösten sich seine Sinne in Stille auf. Im selben Augenblick wurde er nichts als die Gestalt höchster Seligkeit.

Word by Word

• japataḥ: of (him) who was chanting
• japataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jap (धातु) + -at (शतृ-प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्तम्; षष्ठी-एकवचन (Genitive Singular) — 'of (one) who is chanting'

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• viprasya: of the brāhmaṇa
• viprasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• indriyāṇi: the senses
• indriyāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• layam: dissolution, absorption
• layam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: laya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• yayuḥ: went, entered
• yayuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• kevalam: only, merely
• kevalam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kevala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधानार्थक/विशेषणार्थक क्रियाविशेषणम् (adverbial: 'only/merely')

• paramānanda-svarūpaḥ: (one who is) the very form of supreme bliss
• paramānanda-svarūpaḥ: Karta/Predicative (Subject complement/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + svarūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (परमस्य आनन्दस्य स्वरूपः)

• asau: that person, he
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• abhūt: became
• abhūt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist/अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• kṣaṇāt: in an instant, instantly
• kṣaṇāt: Apadana (Ablative source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (Arjuna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brāhmaṇa seated in japa; senses symbolically dissolving into a calm aura; the body steady, breath subtle, face serene, suggesting instantaneous absorption into supreme bliss.

Characters & Entities

• Kālabhīti (as vipra/brāhmaṇa in context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sincere japa, supported by a powerful tīrtha, culminates in inner absorption—sense-withdrawal and direct taste of higher bliss.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same gupta-kṣetra setting is implied; its power is shown by the immediate inner transformation produced during japa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Mantra-japa is the practice; its described sign is indriya-laya (subsiding of the senses) and blissful absorption.