Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

तत्स्वरूपं भोगरूपं तुर्यातीतमनोपमम् । विभ्रांतकरणं मूर्तं प्रकृतिस्थं च शाश्वतम्

Transliteration

tatsvarūpaṃ bhogarūpaṃ turyātītamanopamam | vibhrāṃtakaraṇaṃ mūrtaṃ prakṛtisthaṃ ca śāśvatam

Translation

Jene Wirklichkeit ist ihre eigene wahre Natur und erscheint zugleich als Gestalt von Erfahrung und Genuss (bhoga). Sie gleicht dem Geist, der selbst den „vierten“ Zustand übersteigt; und doch wird sie als verkörpert bezeichnet, wirkend durch die Werkzeuge der Sinne, in Prakṛti verweilend und ewig.

Word by Word

• तत्स्वरूपम्: its essential nature
• तत्स्वरूपम्: Karma/Viśeṣya (Object/Qualified term)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + स्वरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (neuter nom/acc sg; ‘its true form’)

• भोगरूपम्: the form of enjoyment/experience
• भोगरूपम्: Karma/Viśeṣya (Object/Qualified term)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोग (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (neuter nom/acc sg)

• तुर्यातीतमनोपमम्: incomparable to mind, transcending the fourth (turyātīta)
• तुर्यातीतमनोपमम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुर्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अतीत (कृदन्त; √इ (धातु) + क्त, ‘gone beyond’) + मनस् (प्रातिपदिक) + उपम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष, विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• विभ्रान्तकरणम्: having (or: with) bewildered instruments/senses
• विभ्रान्तकरणम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विभ्रान्त (कृदन्त; √भ्रम् (धातु) + क्त, ‘confused’) + करण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• मूर्तम्: embodied, manifest
• मूर्तम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• प्रकृतिस्थम्: abiding in prakṛti (nature)
• प्रकृतिस्थम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रकृति (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (कृदन्त; √स्था (धातु) + क्त, ‘standing/abiding’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष, क्त-कृदन्ताधारित विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (indeclinable; conjunction ‘and’)

• शाश्वतम्: eternal
• शाश्वतम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाश्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A split yet unified tableau: on one side, a luminous formless expanse (turīyātīta); on the other, the same light animating a human figure engaged in sensory life—eyes, hands, and mind depicted as instruments—while a subtle thread shows their source in the eternal reality.

Characters & Entities

• Turīya
• Prakṛti
• Karaṇa (sense-instruments)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Supreme is beyond ordinary states of consciousness, yet it is also immanent—appearing as experience and as the embodied world-process while remaining eternal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a contemplative description supporting yogic understanding.