Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 64

Devanagari script

अस्थिपट्टतुलास्तंभस्नायुबंधेन यंत्रितम् । रक्तमांसमृदालिप्तं विण्मूत्रद्रव्यभाजनम्

Transliteration

asthipaṭṭatulāstaṃbhasnāyubaṃdhena yaṃtritam | raktamāṃsamṛdāliptaṃ viṇmūtradravyabhājanam

Translation

This body is a contrivance bound by sinews—its beams and posts like boards and pillars of bone—smeared with the clay of blood and flesh, a vessel holding the foul substances of feces and urine.

Word by Word

• अस्थि-पट्ट-तुला-स्तम्भ-स्नायु-बंधेन: by the binding of bones, straps, beams, sinews, etc.
• अस्थि-पट्ट-तुला-स्तम्भ-स्नायु-बंधेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक) + पट्ट (प्रातिपदिक) + तुला (प्रातिपदिक) + स्तम्भ (प्रातिपदिक) + स्नायु (प्रातिपदिक) + बन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अस्थि-पट्ट-तुला-स्तम्भ-स्नायु-बंधः) + तृतीया एकवचन ‘-ेन’

• यंत्रितम्: restrained, bound
• यंत्रितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यन्त्रय् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/भूतकर्मणि), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (past passive participle)

• रक्त-मांस-मृदा-लिप्तम्: smeared with blood, flesh, and earth
• रक्त-मांस-मृदा-लिप्तम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + मांस (प्रातिपदिक) + मृदा (प्रातिपदिक) + लिप्त (कृदन्त; लिप् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (रक्तेन मांसैः मृदा च लिप्तम्)

• विण्-मूत्र-द्रव्य-भाजनम्: a vessel for the substances of feces and urine
• विण्-मूत्र-द्रव्य-भाजनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विण् (प्रातिपदिक) + मूत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + द्रव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + भाजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (विण्मूत्रयोः द्रव्यस्य भाजनम्)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A yogin-teacher instructs a brāhmaṇa disciple; the human body is allegorized as a crude wooden-and-bone contraption, smeared with flesh and blood, emphasizing impermanence and impurity.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Seeing the body’s constructed and impure nature supports detachment and a turn toward liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse is a contemplative critique of bodily attachment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it functions as a meditation for dispassion (vairāgya).