Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

यथाप्रकृति पुंयोमो यत्नेनापि परस्परम् । साध्यामानो गुणाय स्यादगुणायाप्यसाधितः

Transliteration

yathāprakṛti puṃyomo yatnenāpi parasparam | sādhyāmāno guṇāya syādaguṇāyāpyasādhitaḥ

Translation

According to their own natures, man and woman—even with effort toward one another—when shaped and guided, can become a cause of virtue; when not properly guided, they can likewise become a cause of defect.

Word by Word

• yathā-prakṛti: according to one’s nature
• yathā-prakṛti: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + prakṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्यय (रीति-अर्थे) = ‘प्रकृत्यानुसारम्’ (according to nature)

• puṃyomo: man and woman (the couple)
• puṃyomo: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṃs (प्रातिपदिक) + yoma (प्रातिपदिक; पाठभेद/दुर्लभ-शब्द)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; पाठे ‘पुंयोमो’ अस्पष्टः—सम्भाव्यः ‘पुंयोषा’/‘पुंयोषित्’ (man and woman) इत्यर्थे; अत्र दम्पती-सम्बन्धः

• yatnena: by effort
• yatnena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• api: even; also
• api: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अपि = even/also)

• parasparam: mutually; with each other
• parasparam: Avyaya (Reciprocal/परस्पर)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paraspara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (परस्परम् = mutually)

• sādhyamānaḥ: being pursued/accomplished
• sādhyamānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sādh (साध् धातु) + śānac (शानच्)
• Form: कृदन्त (वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि/भावे शानच्; ‘being worked at/being accomplished’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• guṇāya: for virtue; for good quality
• guṇāya: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे

• syāt: may become
• syāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• aguṇāya: for vice; for lack of virtue
• aguṇāya: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aguṇa (प्रातिपदिक; अ-नञ् + गुण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी, एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे

• api: even
• api: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अपि = even)

• asādhitaḥ: if not accomplished (it leads to harm)
• asādhitaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (नञ्) + sādh (साध् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘असाधितः’ = not accomplished/not properly cultivated

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced: Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration to sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic split-panel: on one side a couple guided by an elder/ācārya with calm faces and orderly home; on the other side the same couple in discord, showing the contrast between cultivated virtue and neglected vice.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Householder life yields virtue when governed by discipline and right intention; without it, it degrades into fault.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse is ethical and psychological in emphasis.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the emphasis is on cultivation (sādhana) and restraint in relationships.