Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 144

Devanagari script

अधरोत्तरभावश्च मरणं राष्ट्रविभ्रमः । अन्योन्याभिभवाद्दुःखमन्योन्यातिशयात्पुनः

Transliteration

adharottarabhāvaśca maraṇaṃ rāṣṭravibhramaḥ | anyonyābhibhavādduḥkhamanyonyātiśayātpunaḥ

Translation

In this world there is the rise and fall of status, death, and the ruin of kingdoms. Sorrow comes from mutual overpowering, and again from the restless rivalry of mutual superiority.

Word by Word

• adhara: lower
• adhara: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, प्रातिपदिक (lower; stem in compound)

• uttara: higher
• uttara: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, प्रातिपदिक (higher; stem in compound)

• bhāvaḥ: condition
• bhāvaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (state/condition)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयार्थे)

• adharottarabhāvaḥ: state of high and low (inequality)
• adharottarabhāvaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhara+uttara+bhāva (प्रातिपदिकसमूह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व (adharaścottaraśca bhāvaḥ / inequality of high and low)

• maraṇam: death
• maraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maraṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √mṛ मृ (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (death)

• rāṣṭra: kingdom
• rāṣṭra: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāṣṭra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (kingdom; stem in compound)

• vibhramaḥ: disorder
• vibhramaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (confusion/disorder)

• rāṣṭravibhramaḥ: disorder of the kingdom
• rāṣṭravibhramaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāṣṭra+vibhrama (प्रातिपदिकसमूह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (rāṣṭrasya vibhramaḥ)

• anyonyābhibhavāt: from mutual overpowering
• anyonyābhibhavāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anyonya+abhibhava (प्रातिपदिकसमूह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (anyonya-sya abhibhavaḥ) + अपादान (from mutual overpowering)

• duḥkham: sorrow
• duḥkham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (sorrow)

• anyonyātiśayāt: from mutual surpassing/excess
• anyonyātiśayāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anyonya+atiśaya (प्रातिपदिकसमूह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (anyonya-sya atiśayaḥ)

• punaḥ: again/further
• punaḥ: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (पुनरर्थे adverb: again/further)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wheel-of-fortune composition: a king ascending a throne while another falls; funeral procession indicating mṛtyu; a crumbling fort for ‘rāṣṭra-vibhrama’; two rival figures locked in contest, both shadowed by sorrow.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly life is marked by instability—status shifts, death, and political upheaval—so one should cultivate detachment rather than rivalry.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a general dharma-teaching within the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed here; the emphasis is on insight into suffering as a basis for renunciation.