Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

चतुर्भिः कारणैर्दुःखं शीरिरं मानसं च यत् । मानसं चाप्यप्रियस्य संयोगः प्रियवर्जनम्

Transliteration

caturbhiḥ kāraṇairduḥkhaṃ śīriraṃ mānasaṃ ca yat | mānasaṃ cāpyapriyasya saṃyogaḥ priyavarjanam

Translation

Suffering is of two kinds—bodily and mental—and it arises from four causes. Mental suffering, indeed, comes from union with what is undesirable and from separation from what is dear.

Word by Word

• caturbhiḥ: by four
• caturbhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषणम्

• kāraṇaiḥ: by causes
• kāraṇaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• duḥkham: suffering
• duḥkham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (वाक्ये विषय/उद्देश्यरूपेण)

• śārīram: bodily
• śārīram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śārīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• mānasam: mental
• mānasam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

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

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम (relative)

• mānasam: mental (suffering)
• mānasam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (मानस-दुःखम् इत्यर्थे)

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

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/अपि-कारार्थक-अव्यय (also/even)

• apriyasya: of the unpleasant
• apriyasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; नञ्-पूर्वक (of the unpleasant)

• saṃyogaḥ: contact/association
• saṃyogaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃyoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• priya-varjanam: separation from the dear
• priya-varjanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक) + varjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (प्रियस्य वर्जनम्)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two contrasting vignettes: a person forced into the company of an unpleasant figure (mental distress), and the same person separated from a loved one (tears), with a calm sage indicating the root causes.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mental pain is largely rooted in attachment—clinging to the pleasant and resisting the unpleasant—so freedom begins with loosening that grip.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it presents a general dharmic teaching within the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed here; the verse diagnoses the causes of mental suffering.