Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

न तस्य विलयो जन्म वर्धनं चापि सत्तम । मलभांडे नवद्वारे पूयासृक्छोणितालये

Transliteration

na tasya vilayo janma vardhanaṃ cāpi sattama | malabhāṃḍe navadvāre pūyāsṛkchoṇitālaye

Translation

Pour Cela (le Brahman), il n’est ni dissolution, ni naissance, ni croissance, ô le meilleur des êtres. Mais dans ce vase impur aux neuf portes—demeure de pus, de sang et de chair—

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• tasya: of that (Brahman)
• tasya: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• vilayaḥ: dissolution
• vilayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vilaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• janma: birth
• janma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• vardhanam: growth
• vardhanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vardhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

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

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

• sattama: O best one
• sattama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat + tama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; 'श्रेष्ठ' इत्यर्थे

• malabhāṇḍe: in a vessel of filth
• malabhāṇḍe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mala + bhāṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: मलस्य भाण्डे = 'in a vessel of filth'

• navadvāre: in the nine-gated (body)
• navadvāre: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nava + dvāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; द्विगु: नव द्वाराणि यस्मिन् (शरीरे)

• pūyāsṛkchoṇitālaye: in an abode of pus and blood
• pūyāsṛkchoṇitālaye: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūya + asṛk + śoṇita + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: पूय-असृक-शोणितानाम् आलये = 'in an abode of pus, blood, and gore'

Speaker

Munayaḥ (the sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setutīrtha (Setukṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A split-symbolic tableau: on one side, a formless radiant Brahman beyond time; on the other, a schematic ‘nine-gated city’ body shown as a fragile vessel, emphasizing impermanence and impurity without gore-heavy literalism.

Characters & Entities

• Brahman
• Navadvāra (nine gates of the body)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Brahman is beyond change, while the body is impure and transient; detachment supports liberation-oriented living.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Setu/Rāmeśvaram narrative setting frames the teaching, linking tīrtha-purity with inner dispassion and knowledge.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a contemplative instruction meant to generate vairāgya.