Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

प्राक्कर्मवशगस्यास्य गर्भज्ञानं च नश्यति । ततः करोति कर्माणि श्वेतरक्तासितानि च

Transliteration

prākkarmavaśagasyāsya garbhajñānaṃ ca naśyati | tataḥ karoti karmāṇi śvetaraktāsitāni ca

Translation

Dieses Wesen, nun der Macht früheren Karmas unterworfen, verliert das im Mutterleib erinnerte Wissen; danach vollbringt es Taten aller Art — helle, leidenschaftliche und dunkle.

Word by Word

• प्राक्-कर्म-वशगस्य: of one subject to former karma
• प्राक्-कर्म-वशगस्य: Sambandha (Genitive: of one controlled by past karma)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राक् (अव्यय) + कर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + वशग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति (6th/genitive), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (प्राक्कर्मणः वशगः)

• अस्य: of him
• अस्य: Sambandha (Genitive: of him)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• गर्भ-ज्ञानम्: knowledge of the womb (prenatal memory)
• गर्भ-ज्ञानम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक) + ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (गर्भस्य ज्ञानम्)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• नश्यति: perishes, disappears
• नश्यति: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरवाचक (thereafter)

• करोति: does, performs
• करोति: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कर्माणि: actions, deeds
• कर्माणि: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति (2nd/accusative), बहुवचन

• श्वेत-रक्त-असितानि: white, red, and black (threefold)
• श्वेत-रक्त-असितानि: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्वेत (प्रातिपदिक) + रक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + असित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (श्वेतं च रक्तं च असितं च) विशेषणम् ‘कर्माणि’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: the newborn’s fading womb-memory, then the adult life-stream branching into three colored paths—white, red, black—representing sattva, rajas, tamas, with karma as an unseen force.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karma causes forgetfulness of spiritual insight and propels beings into mixed actions, sustaining saṃsāra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; this is philosophical teaching on karma and action.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it implies cultivating pure (śveta) actions to counter karmic bondage.