Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 94

Devanagari script

निस्तीर्य च हिमं सर्वं निमग्नाः बालुकार्णवे । स्वर्गं यास्यति राजैकः सशरीरो गमिष्यति

Transliteration

nistīrya ca himaṃ sarvaṃ nimagnāḥ bālukārṇave | svargaṃ yāsyati rājaikaḥ saśarīro gamiṣyati

Translation

Having crossed the entire snowy tract and then sinking into the ocean of sands, the king alone shall go to heaven—he shall depart with his very body.

Word by Word

• nistīrya: having crossed over
• nistīrya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tṝ (धातु) उपसर्ग: nis-
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): ‘having crossed/overcome’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction): ‘and’

• himam: snow, cold (mass)
• himam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• sarvam: all, entire
• sarvam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषण (agreeing with himam)

• nimagnāḥ: submerged, sunk
• nimagnāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ni-magna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन — भूतकर्मणि/भूतभावे क्त-प्रत्यय; ‘having sunk/submerged’

• bālukā-arṇave: in the sea/ocean of sand
• bālukā-arṇave: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālukā (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन — ‘in the ocean of sand’ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• svargam: heaven
• svargam: Karma (Goal/कर्म-गति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• yāsyati: will go
• yāsyati: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — परस्मैपद

• rājā-ekaḥ: the king alone
• rājā-ekaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘the king alone/one king’

• sa-śarīraḥ: with (his) body, bodily
• sa-śarīraḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (सह/सम्-भाव) + śarīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — बहुव्रीहि: ‘having a body/with body’

• gamiṣyati: will go
• gamiṣyati: Kriyā (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — परस्मैपद

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced for Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narration context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: transit-kṣetra (liminal passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king completes a perilous traverse: first a vast snowbound region, then a boundless sea of sand; finally he sinks/merges into the sandy ocean and ascends to heaven with his body.

Characters & Entities

• Svarga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A life completed in dharma can culminate in a sanctified departure where the final journey itself becomes a means of transcendence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse references symbolic terrains (snowy tract and ‘ocean of sands’) but does not explicitly name a well-known tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies the mahāprasthāna pattern of a final pilgrimage-like departure rather than a specific rite.