Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 125

Devanagari script

मायानिरसनात्सद्यो नश्यत्येव गुणत्रयम् । यदा गुणत्रयातीतो भवतीति स मुक्तिभाक्

Transliteration

māyānirasanātsadyo naśyatyeva guṇatrayam | yadā guṇatrayātīto bhavatīti sa muktibhāk

Translation

Wenn die Māyā beseitigt ist, vergehen sogleich die drei Guṇa. Wenn einer die drei Guṇa übersteigt—dann ist er wahrlich Teilhaber der Befreiung (Mukti).

Word by Word

• मायानिरसनात्: from (by) the removal of māyā
• मायानिरसनात्: Apadana (Ablative source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया-निरसन (प्रातिपदिक; घटकाः: माया + निरसन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• सद्यः: immediately
• सद्यः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सद्यः (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• नश्यति: perishes
• नश्यति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• गुणत्रयम्: the three guṇas
• गुणत्रयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण-त्रय (प्रातिपदिक; घटकाः: गुण + त्रय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative) / द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; अत्र कर्तृपदम् (नश्यति इत्यस्य)

• यदा: when
• यदा: Sambandha (Temporal connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: when)

• गुणत्रयातीतः: one who has transcended the three guṇas
• गुणत्रयातीतः: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुण-त्रय-अतीत (प्रातिपदिक; घटकाः: गुण + त्रय + अतीत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्—‘स’ इति सर्वनाम्नः

• भवति: becomes / is
• भवति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• स: he
• स: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• मुक्तिभाक्: partaker of liberation
• मुक्तिभाक्: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्ति-भाज् (प्रातिपदिक; घटकाः: मुक्ति + भाज्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम्—‘स’ इति; ‘भाज्’ इत्यस्य क्विप्-प्रत्ययान्त-रूपम् (भाक्)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra / Kedāranātha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas/ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An allegorical tableau: three colored strands (sattva-white, rajas-red, tamas-black) unravel and vanish as a yogin’s awareness rests in Śiva; the guṇas fall away like broken fetters.

Characters & Entities

• māyā
• guṇatraya
• mukti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Liberation is defined as becoming guṇātīta (beyond sattva-rajas-tamas), which follows the removal of māyā.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within Kedāra’s Mahātmya, the teaching frames the tīrtha as a place that supports guṇātīta realization through Śiva.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies the discipline of māyā-removal through Śiva-centered practice (expanded explicitly in the next verse as liṅga-arcana).