Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

तस्मात्सुकृतिनः सर्वे येषां भावोऽनुवर्त्ते । जन्मजन्मानुवृत्तानां विस्मयं नैव कारयेत्

Transliteration

tasmātsukṛtinaḥ sarve yeṣāṃ bhāvo'nuvartte | janmajanmānuvṛttānāṃ vismayaṃ naiva kārayet

Translation

Darum sollen alle Tugendhaften und Verdienstvollen—bei denen die hingebungsvolle Gesinnung fortdauert—nicht als etwas Verwunderliches gelten; denn diese Kontinuität wird von Geburt zu Geburt getragen.

Word by Word

• तस्मात्: therefore; from that
• तस्मात्: Hetu/Reason (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable); तस्मात् = तद्-शब्दस्य पञ्चमी-एकवचनरूपं, अव्ययीभावेन ‘therefore/from that’ अर्थे

• सुकृतिनः: the meritorious (people)
• सुकृतिनः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुकृतिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying सुकृतिनः)

• येषाम्: of whom
• येषाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive); बहुवचन

• भावः: disposition; nature
• भावः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• अनुवर्तते: continues; follows on
• अनुवर्तते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु√वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• जन्मजन्मानुवृत्तानाम्: of those whose (merit) continues birth after birth
• जन्मजन्मानुवृत्तानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन्म + जन्म + अनु√वृत् (कृदन्त: अनुवृत्त) (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: बहुव्रीह्यर्थे न; तत्पुरुषसमासः (जन्म-जन्म-अनुवृत्त = ‘following through birth after birth’); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी; बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (येषाम्/सुकृतिनः)

• विस्मयम्: astonishment
• विस्मयम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विस्मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (निषेध-अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• एव: indeed; at all
• एव: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis)

• कारयेत्: should cause; should make (one feel)
• कारयेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (णिच् causative)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative)

Speaker

Śiva (Śaṅkara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dharmarāja

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A calm Himalayan hermitage near Kedāra; a sage instructs Dharmarāja that devotion is inherited from prior births, not a sudden wonder; pilgrims and ascetics appear serene.

Characters & Entities

• sukṛtin (meritorious person)
• bhāva
• rebirth

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual inclination is often the ripening of long practice; steady devotion is continuity of saṃskāra, not a sudden accident.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is specified; the verse provides the doctrinal basis for why pilgrims naturally gravitate toward Kedāra and other tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an explanatory teaching about spiritual causality across lifetimes.