Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

कामो हि नरकायैव सर्वेषां प्राणिनां ध्रुवम् । दुःखरूपी ह्यनंगोऽयं जानीध्वं मम भाषितम्

Transliteration

kāmo hi narakāyaiva sarveṣāṃ prāṇināṃ dhruvam | duḥkharūpī hyanaṃgo'yaṃ jānīdhvaṃ mama bhāṣitam

Translation

Desire (Kāma), indeed, surely leads all living beings toward hell. This bodiless Kāma is truly of the nature of suffering—know this as my declared teaching.

Word by Word

• kāmaḥ: desire (Kāma)
• kāmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• narakāya: for hell
• narakāya: Sampradana (Purpose/Dative/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• eva: only, indeed
• eva: Avyaya (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• sarveṣām: of all
• sarveṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; विशेषण (prāṇinām)

• prāṇinām: of living beings
• prāṇinām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• dhruvam: certain, inevitable
• dhruvam: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicate adjective)

• duḥkha-rūpī: having the form of suffering
• duḥkha-rūpī: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (दुःखस्य रूपं यस्य)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Avyaya (Particle/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• anaṅgaḥ: Ananga (Kāma)
• anaṅgaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anaṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• jānīdhvam: know (you all)
• jānīdhvam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jñā (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• bhāṣitam: (my) statement, what is spoken
• bhāṣitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √bhāṣ (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त ‘that which is spoken’

Speaker

Śiva (Śaṃbhu/Mahādeva) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva delivers a stern teaching: desire leads beings toward hell; Kāma, though bodiless, is suffering itself—his words ring as a moral proclamation.

Characters & Entities

• Kāma (Anaṅga)
• Naraka (hell)
• All beings (prāṇin)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked desire becomes a cause of bondage and suffering; one should recognize its painful consequences and cultivate restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

It is situated within the Kedārakhaṇḍa (Kedarnath region narrative), but the verse itself is a universal teaching rather than a tirtha-legend.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is mentioned; it emphasizes inner discipline.