Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 198

Devanagari script

जन्मानि तावंति न संति देव निष्पीड्य सर्वाणि च सर्वकालम् । भूतानि यावंति मयात्र भीमे पीतानि संसारमहासमुद्रे

Transliteration

janmāni tāvaṃti na saṃti deva niṣpīḍya sarvāṇi ca sarvakālam | bhūtāni yāvaṃti mayātra bhīme pītāni saṃsāramahāsamudre

Translation

O Gott, es gibt nicht so viele Geburten, wie ich sie zu allen Zeiten erduldet habe, immer wieder niedergepresst und zermalmt. Und in diesem furchtbaren großen Ozean des Saṃsāra sind auch die Wesen und Leiden, die ich gezwungen war zu „trinken“ (zu ertragen), ohne Zahl.

Word by Word

• janmāni: births
• janmāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• tāvanti: so many
• tāvanti: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāvat (सर्वनाम/परिमाण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; परिमाणवाचक-विशेषणम्

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

• santi: exist/are
• santi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम

• deva: O god
• deva: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• niṣpīḍya: having crushed
• niṣpīḍya: Kriya (Adverbial action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: niṣ-√pīḍ (पीड्)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive): ‘having crushed/pressed’

• sarvāṇi: all (of them)
• sarvāṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषणम्

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

• sarva-kālam: always
• sarva-kālam: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (accusative used adverbially): ‘at all times’

• bhūtāni: beings
• bhūtāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• yāvanti: as many as
• yāvanti: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāvat (सर्वनाम/परिमाण-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; परिमाणवाचक-विशेषणम्

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• bhīme: in the terrible
• bhīme: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhīma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (locative: ‘in the terrible…’)

• pītāni: drunk/consumed
• pītāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √pā (पा)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘pīta’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• saṃsāra-mahā-samudre: in the great ocean of saṃsāra
• saṃsāra-mahā-samudre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsāra (प्रातिपदिक) + mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + samudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (संसारः एव महा-समुद्रः)

Speaker

A suffering devotee addressing the Lord (within Sūta’s narration; deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhava-sāgara-taraṇa (conceptual tīrtha)

Type: sangam

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A weary soul adrift in a dark, stormy ocean labeled saṃsāra; waves carry images of repeated births and devouring; above, the Lord appears as a calm, radiant refuge extending grace.

Characters & Entities

• Deva
• Saṃsāra (ocean metaphor)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Saṃsāra is beginningless suffering; recognizing its weight intensifies the urgency for divine refuge and liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is specified in this verse; it is a general lament highlighting the need for deliverance.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse functions as a confession-prayer (śaraṇāgati) seeking release.