Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

एनं च वीक्ष्य वल्गन्तं तं विद्यान्मृत्युमागतम् । ऋक्षवानरयुग्यस्थो गायन्यो दक्षिणां दिशम्

Transliteration

enaṃ ca vīkṣya valgantaṃ taṃ vidyānmṛtyumāgatam | ṛkṣavānarayugyastho gāyanyo dakṣiṇāṃ diśam

Translation

Al verlo saltar y retozar, debe saberse que la muerte ha llegado. Asimismo, quien va montado en un tiro de osos y monos, cantando y dirigiéndose hacia el sur, es un presagio.

Word by Word

• enam: this (one)
• enam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचन; निकटवाचक सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• vīkṣya: having seen
• vīkṣya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vi + √īkṣ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund) = having looked/seen

• valgantam: leaping, prancing
• valgantam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √valg (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन

• tam: him/that
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचन

• vidyāt: should know
• vidyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vid (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• mṛtyum: death
• mṛtyum: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचन

• āgatam: arrived, come
• āgatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + √gam (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन; 'come/arrived'

• ṛkṣavānarayugyasthaḥ: situated on a bear-and-monkey team/vehicle
• ṛkṣavānarayugyasthaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + vānara (प्रातिपदिक) + yugya (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक from √sthā)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative) एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—'ṛkṣa-vānara-yugye sthaḥ' = seated/standing on a bear-and-monkey team/vehicle

• gāyanī: a female singer
• gāyanī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gāyanī (प्रातिपदिक; feminine agent noun from √gai)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative) एकवचन; 'female singer'

• u: indeed/and
• u: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: u (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; emphasis/continuation)

• dakṣiṇām: southern
• dakṣiṇām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying diśam)

• diśam: direction
• diśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचन

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A surreal dream-chariot: a figure singing while riding a conveyance drawn by bears and monkeys, moving south; another ominous leaping figure appears as a herald of death.

Characters & Entities

• Mṛtyu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic teaching uses vivid symbols to awaken detachment and urgency in sādhana when mortality-signs manifest.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; it continues the catalog of death-omens.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the implied response is heightened yogic composure and practice upon recognizing such signs.