Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

महायक्ष्मगलस्थेन कंठसंरोधविह्वलाम् । विनष्टदंतामव्यक्तां विलुठंतीं मुहुर्मुहुः

Transliteration

mahāyakṣmagalasthena kaṃṭhasaṃrodhavihvalām | vinaṣṭadaṃtāmavyaktāṃ viluṭhaṃtīṃ muhurmuhuḥ

Translation

Afflicted by consumption lodged in her throat and gasping from choking constriction, toothless and barely able to speak, she kept collapsing again and again.

Word by Word

• mahā-yakṣma-gala-sthena: by/with (a disease) seated in the throat—severe consumption
• mahā-yakṣma-gala-sthena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + yakṣma (प्रातिपदिक) + gala (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (कृदन्त; √sthā (धातु))
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; विशेषणम् (हेतु/करणभावे)

• kaṃṭha-saṃrodha-vihvalām: distressed by obstruction of the throat
• kaṃṭha-saṃrodha-vihvalām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kaṃṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃrodha (प्रातिपदिक) + vihvala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; विशेष्यः (स्त्री)

• vinaṣṭa-dantām: with teeth destroyed
• vinaṣṭa-dantām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vinaṣṭa (कृदन्त; √naś (धातु) वि-उपसर्ग) + danta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः; विशेष्यः (स्त्री)

• a-vyaktām: indistinct, unclear
• a-vyaktām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (नञ्-प्रत्यय) + vyakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नञ्-समासभावः (अव्यक्त = not clear)

• vi-luṭhantīm: rolling about, writhing
• vi-luṭhantīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-luṭhantī (कृदन्त; वर्तमानकृदन्त/शतृ; √luṭh (धातु) वि-उपसर्ग)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ)

• muhur-muhuḥ: again and again
• muhur-muhuḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: muhuḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोगः (adverbial reduplication)

Speaker

Narrator (first-person voice in the passage; exact attribution not in excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A choking, consumptive figure repeatedly collapsing; the observer watches with helpless compassion, highlighting the precariousness of breath and voice.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It intensifies the teaching of impermanence—speech, strength, and beauty fail—urging ethical living and spiritual refuge beyond the body.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual instruction appears here.