Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 110

Devanagari script

परमायुः स्थिता षष्टिस्तदप्यस्ति न निष्ठितम् । तस्य यावद्भवेदायुर्देहिनः पूर्वकर्म भिः

Transliteration

paramāyuḥ sthitā ṣaṣṭistadapyasti na niṣṭhitam | tasya yāvadbhavedāyurdehinaḥ pūrvakarma bhiḥ

Translation

The “highest lifespan” is said to be sixty—yet even that is not assured. An embodied being lives only so long as is shaped by prior actions (karma).

Word by Word

• parama-āyuḥ: the maximum lifespan
• parama-āyuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक) + āyus (आयुस्, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (paramam āyuḥ = 'the highest lifespan')

• sthitā: fixed
• sthitā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthā (स्था, धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'fixed/established' (agrees with ṣaṣṭiḥ)

• ṣaṣṭiḥ: sixty
• ṣaṣṭiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭi (षष्टि, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; संख्या 'sixty' (years understood)

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात

• asti: exists/is
• asti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस्, धातु)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• niṣṭhitam: certain/assured
• niṣṭhitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ni-ṣṭhā (नि + स्था, धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'certain/settled'

• tasya: of that (person)
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद्, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• yāvat: as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (यावत्, प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्)
• Form: परिमाणार्थक-अव्यय (correlative adverb) = 'as long as/so much as'

• bhavet: may be/should be
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (भू, धातु)
• Form: लोट्/विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• āyuḥ: lifespan
• āyuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyus (आयुस्, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dehinaḥ: of the embodied one
• dehinaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dehin (देहिन्, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• pūrva-karma-bhiḥ: by previous actions (karma)
• pūrva-karma-bhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक) + karma (कर्मन्, प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषः (pūrvam karma = 'former deeds'); करणत्वेन

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A balance-scale of karma above a human figure; threads from past deeds shape a measured lifespan; a calm Śaiva teacher indicates the path of purification.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Longevity is not guaranteed and is tied to karma; hence one should live righteously and pursue liberation-oriented goals.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific sacred geography appears in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse frames lifespan in terms of karma rather than a particular rite.