Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

शंखाद्याः शतशस्तस्य वाद्यन्ते यदि कर्णयोः । भेर्यश्च यदि हन्यंते शब्दं बाह्यं न विंदति

Transliteration

śaṃkhādyāḥ śataśastasya vādyante yadi karṇayoḥ | bheryaśca yadi hanyaṃte śabdaṃ bāhyaṃ na viṃdati

Translation

Selbst wenn Hunderte von Muschelhörnern und anderen Instrumenten an seinen Ohren ertönen, selbst wenn Kesseltrommeln geschlagen werden, nimmt er keinen äußeren Klang wahr.

Word by Word

• śaṃkha-ādyāḥ: conches etc.
• śaṃkha-ādyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkha (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana; 'conches and the like'

• śataśaḥ: in hundreds
• śataśaḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śataśas (अव्यय)
• Form: Prakāra-avyaya (adverb of manner/degree) — 'hundreds of times; in hundreds'

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th/षष्ठी), Ekavacana; सर्वनाम — 'of him'

• vādyante: are sounded
• vādyante: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vad (धातु) / √vād (धातु) (to sound)
• Form: Laṭ (Present/लट्), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Bahuvacana; ātmanepada; karmaṇi-prayoga (passive sense) — 'are sounded/played'

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: Śarthe avyaya (conditional particle) — 'if'

• karṇayoḥ: in (his) two ears
• karṇayoḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī (7th/सप्तमी), Dvivacana

• bheryaḥ: kettledrums
• bheryaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bherī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana

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

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: Śarthe avyaya (conditional particle)

• hanyante: are struck
• hanyante: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √han (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (Present/लट्), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Bahuvacana; ātmanepada; karmaṇi-prayoga (passive) — 'are struck'

• śabdam: sound
• śabdam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śabda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd/द्वितीया), Ekavacana

• bāhyam: external
• bāhyam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bāhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd/द्वितीया), Ekavacana; विशेषण

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

• vindati: perceives/finds
• vindati: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (धातु) (to find/know)
• Form: Laṭ (Present/लट्), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana; parasmaipada

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced: Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narrative style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A yogin in meditation while attendants blow conches and beat kettledrums close to his ears; sound-waves are painted as visible arcs that stop at an invisible boundary around him.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Deep samādhi is recognized by complete absorption in which even loud external stimuli fail to register.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is mentioned; the verse describes experiential markers of samādhi.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides a phenomenological sign of samādhi—non-perception of external sound.