Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

वत्स नित्यं च गर्भस्थैर्जातैरपि च जंतुभिः । युवभिः स्थविरैः सर्वैर्यातव्यं यमपत्तनम्

Transliteration

vatsa nityaṃ ca garbhasthairjātairapi ca jaṃtubhiḥ | yuvabhiḥ sthaviraiḥ sarvairyātavyaṃ yamapattanam

Translation

Cher enfant, sans cesse—ceux qui sont encore dans le sein, ceux déjà nés, les jeunes comme les vieillards—tous doivent aller à la cité de Yama.

Word by Word

• vatsa: O child
• vatsa: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vatsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययीभूत (adverbial accusative: 'always')

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction: 'and')

• garbhasthaiḥ: by those in the womb
• garbhasthaiḥ: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: garbha-stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुष (locative determinative: 'in the womb' + 'situated'); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• jātaiḥ: by those born
• jātaiḥ: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √jan धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Emphasis/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अपि-अर्थक-निपात (also/even)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (and)

• jaṃtubhiḥ: by living beings
• jaṃtubhiḥ: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jaṃtu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• yuvabhiḥ: by the young
• yuvabhiḥ: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yuva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• sthaviraiḥ: by the old
• sthaviraiḥ: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthavira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• sarvaiḥ: by all
• sarvaiḥ: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन (Plural)

• yātavyam: must be gone/one must go
• yātavyam: Kriya (Obligation/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु) + tavya (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तव्यत्-कृदन्त (gerundive/obligatory), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; भावे प्रयोगः (impersonal obligation)

• yama-pattanam: the city of Yama
• yama-pattanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama-pattana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative: 'of Yama' + 'city'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Munayaḥ (the sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Yamapattana

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vatsa / dvija-putra (a young addressee)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A compassionate didactic scene: sages addressing a child; in the background, a symbolic timeline—womb, infant, youth, elder—each walking the same road toward a distant, walled Yamapattana with a gate guarded by Yamadūtas.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Yamapattana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mortality applies to every stage of life; therefore spiritual practice should not be postponed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu/Rāmeśvaram’s māhātmya backdrop uses this admonition to intensify commitment to tīrtha-dharma and devotion.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the emphasis is urgency—do dharma and devotion now.