Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

शरारिणां स्थितिरियमुत्पत्तिप्रलयात्मिका । दिव्यान्यपि शरीराणि कालाद्यांत्येवमेव हि

Transliteration

śarāriṇāṃ sthitiriyamutpattipralayātmikā | divyānyapi śarīrāṇi kālādyāṃtyevameva hi

Translation

Telle est la condition des êtres incarnés : leur nature est de naître et de périr. Même les corps divins, eux aussi, s’en vont avec le temps — ainsi en est-il vraiment.

Word by Word

• शरारिणाम्: of embodied beings
• शरारिणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (of)

• स्थितिः: state; continuance
• स्थितिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• इयम्: this
• इयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• उत्पत्ति-प्रलय-आत्मिका: consisting of origination and dissolution
• उत्पत्ति-प्रलय-आत्मिका: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्पत्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रलय (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन्/आत्मिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (having the nature of)

• दिव्यानि: divine
• दिव्यानि: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• अपि: even; also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle); ‘also/even’

• शरीराणि: bodies
• शरीराणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• कालात्: from time
• कालात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• यान्ति: go; pass away
• यान्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb of manner)

• एव: indeed; just
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; अवधारण (emphasis/only)

• हि: indeed; for
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; हेत्वर्थ/निश्चय (for/indeed)

Speaker

Śambhu (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: a foremost sage (munipuṅgava) and/or Brahman interlocutor within the chapter’s dialogue frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative discourse in Kāśī: Śambhu’s words on the rise and fall of bodies, with the city’s ghats and cremation fires implied as a backdrop of impermanence.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu (Śiva)
• Kāla (Time)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All embodied existence is impermanent; recognizing time’s power turns the mind toward the deathless refuge—Śiva and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is doctrinal rather than geographical; within Kāśī Khaṇḍa it supports Kāśī’s message of liberation amid impermanence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a philosophical instruction on the nature of embodied life.