Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 126

Devanagari script

ध्वस्ते यांत्यन्यतो दुःखं न तेषां सोपमा यतेः । मृद्देहकल्पदेहोऽपि मुखाग्रेण कनीयसा

Transliteration

dhvaste yāṃtyanyato duḥkhaṃ na teṣāṃ sopamā yateḥ | mṛddehakalpadeho'pi mukhāgreṇa kanīyasā

Translation

When it is destroyed, they go elsewhere in suffering—such is not the yogin’s comparison. Even if the body is like clay, or like a ‘wish-fulfilling’ body, it is still inferior when weighed against what is foremost, the higher realization.

Word by Word

• dhvaste: when (it is) destroyed / in the destroyed (state)
• dhvaste: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhvasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; विशेषण (understood locus: dehe/āśraye)

• yānti: go
• yānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• anyataḥ: from elsewhere
• anyataḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anyataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अपादानार्थक/दिशावाचक (ablatival adverb: 'from elsewhere')

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

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• sā-upamā: a comparable simile (a fitting comparison)
• sā-upamā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (प्रातिपदिक) + upamā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (sā upamā yateḥ)

• yateḥ: of the ascetic
• yateḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• mṛt-deha-kalpa-dehaḥ: one whose body is like a clod of earth
• mṛt-deha-kalpa-dehaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛt (प्रातिपदिक) + deha (प्रातिपदिक) + kalpa (प्रातिपदिक) + deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (mṛddehaḥ kalpadehaḥ yasya saḥ)

• api: even, also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (particle: 'even/also')

• mukhāgreṇa: with the tip/front of the mouth
• mukhāgreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukha (प्रातिपदिक) + agra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (mukhasya agraṃ)

• kanīyasā: by the smaller (one) / with something smaller
• kanīyasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kanīyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; तुलनात्मक-विशेषण (comparative)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher-yogin contrasts two scenes: creatures fleeing a ruined dwelling in distress, and a serene yogin unmoved, pointing upward to symbolize the ‘foremost’ realization beyond body.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It downplays bodily conditions and even extraordinary embodiments, emphasizing that the yogin’s true aim is the supreme state beyond decay and suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse remains within a philosophical exposition on yoga and liberation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual instruction appears in this verse.