Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

पुनर्जन्म पुनर्मृत्युः पुनः क्लेशः पुनर्जरा । अहरहर्घटीन्यायो न कदाचिदपीदृशः

Transliteration

punarjanma punarmṛtyuḥ punaḥ kleśaḥ punarjarā | aharaharghaṭīnyāyo na kadācidapīdṛśaḥ

Translation

Wieder Geburt, wieder Tod; wieder Leid, wieder Alter — dieses Wiederkehren Tag für Tag, Augenblick für Augenblick, ist niemals anders.

Word by Word

• पुनर्जन्म: rebirth again
• पुनर्जन्म: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय) + जन्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-समास (adverbial compound)

• पुनर्मृत्युः: death again
• पुनर्मृत्युः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय) + मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-समास

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Adhikarana (Manner/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: आवृत्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (adverb: again)

• क्लेशः: affliction
• क्लेशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्लेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पुनर्जरा: old age again
• पुनर्जरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय) + जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-समास

• अहरहर्: day by day
• अहरहर्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहन् (प्रातिपदिक) + अहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: आवृत्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (reduplicated adverb: day after day)

• घटी: a water-clock (ghaṭī)
• घटी: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घटी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (न्यायस्य उपमान-रूपेण)

• न्यायः: maxim/analogy
• न्यायः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: न्याय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• कदाचित्: ever/at any time
• कदाचित्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ever/at any time)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• ईदृशः: such/like this
• ईदृशः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ईदृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (न्यायः इत्यस्य)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrims/seekers

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic wheel of existence turns: a newborn, a funeral pyre, a suffering figure, and an aged person appear in repeating panels like a clock; the phrase ‘ahar-ahar ghaṭī-nyāya’ is visualized as relentless time.

Characters & Entities

• Saṃsāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It cultivates dispassion by highlighting the inevitability of repeated birth, death, suffering, and aging in saṃsāra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The chapter context is Prabhāsa-kṣetra, though the verse itself is a general saṃsāra-reflection.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is mentioned; it prepares the ground for the recommended worship in adjacent verses.