Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 147

Devanagari script

तद्वत्सर्वमिदं लोके दुःखं दुःखेन शाम्यति । एवमेतज्जगत्सर्वमन्योन्यातिशयोच्छ्रितम्

Transliteration

tadvatsarvamidaṃ loke duḥkhaṃ duḥkhena śāmyati | evametajjagatsarvamanyonyātiśayocchritam

Translation

So too, everything in this world is suffering, and suffering is quieted only by suffering. Thus all this universe stands propped up on competitive excess—each surpassing the other.

Word by Word

• तद्वत्: likewise; in that manner
• तद्वत्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (तद्धित-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानार्थक (in the same way)

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन; ‘this’ (सर्वम् इदम् = ‘all this’)

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• दुःखम्: suffering; pain
• दुःखम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता) / द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; अत्र कर्तृभावे (as subject-predicate)

• दुःखेन: by/through suffering
• दुःखेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• शाम्यति: subsides; is pacified
• शाम्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (manner)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• जगत्: world; universe
• जगत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• सर्वम्: entire
• सर्वम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying जगत्)

• अन्योन्य-अतिशय-उच्छ्रितम्: raised by mutual superiority (one over another)
• अन्योन्य-अतिशय-उच्छ्रितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्योन्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अतिशय (प्रातिपदिक) + उच्छ्रित (कृदन्त; √श्रि/श्रय् with उद्-; past participle sense ‘raised’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (mutual-excess-elevated)

Speaker

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

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A crowded marketplace of kings, merchants, and ascetics all striving to outdo one another; a spiral staircase of ‘excess’ rises upward, yet each step is marked by suffering; a calm seer observes the pattern.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rivalry-driven life perpetuates distress; seeing this clearly supports detachment and the search for lasting peace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named; the verse presents a universal diagnosis of saṃsāra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is specified; the teaching is philosophical and ethical rather than ritual.