Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 94

Devanagari script

वलीपलितकायेन शिथिलीकृतविग्रहः । सर्वक्रियास्वशक्तश्च जरयाजर्ज्जरीकृतः

Transliteration

valīpalitakāyena śithilīkṛtavigrahaḥ | sarvakriyāsvaśaktaśca jarayājarjjarīkṛtaḥ

Translation

With the body marked by wrinkles and grey hair, the frame grows slack; powerless in all activities, a man is utterly worn down by old age.

Word by Word

• valī-palita-kāyena: with a body (marked) by wrinkles and grey hair
• valī-palita-kāyena: Karana (Instrument/Association/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: valī (प्रातिपदिक) + palita (प्रातिपदिक) + kāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — Instrumental singular; समासः वलीपलित (द्वन्द्व/कर्मधारय: ‘वली च पलितं च’) + काय (तत्पुरुष: ‘वलीपलितः कायः’)

• śithilī-kṛta-vigrahaḥ: whose body is made slack/feeble
• śithilī-kṛta-vigrahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śithilī (अव्ययभाव/प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृत, कृदन्त) + vigraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — Past passive participle (क्त) of √kṛ with causative sense ‘to make loose’; समासः शिथिली-कृत (उपपद/तत्पुरुष) + विग्रह (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘विग्रहः शिथिलीकृतः’)

• sarva-kriyāsu: in all activities
• sarva-kriyāsu: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + kriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन — Locative plural; समासः सर्वाः क्रियाः (कर्मधारय)

• aśaktaḥ: incapable
• aśaktaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aśakta (अशक्त, कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — Nominative singular; नञ्-समास/नकार-प्रत्यय: ‘not able’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• jarayā: by old age
• jarayā: Karana (Instrument/Cause/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — Instrumental singular

• jarjjarī-kṛtaḥ: made decrepit
• jarjjarī-kṛtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jarjjarī (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृत, कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — Past passive participle (क्त) of √kṛ; समासः जर्ज्जरीकृतः = ‘जर्ज्जरीं कृतः’ (उपपद-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An elderly figure with grey hair and wrinkled skin leans on a staff, hands trembling, tools of work lying unused; behind, a path to a shrine suggests the urgency of spiritual journey before strength fades.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It urges dispassion by highlighting the inevitability of bodily decline and the loss of capacity that comes with age.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a general dharmic reflection within the Kaumārikā-khaṇḍa discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse prepares the ground for dharma-oriented living by stressing impermanence.