Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

यस्य देहस्य धर्मोऽयं क्वचिज्जायेत्क्वचिन्म्रियेत् । क्वचिद्गर्भगतं नश्येज्जातमात्रं क्वचित्तथा

Transliteration

yasya dehasya dharmo'yaṃ kvacijjāyetkvacinmriyet | kvacidgarbhagataṃ naśyejjātamātraṃ kvacittathā

Translation

Telle est la nature du corps : ici il naît, ailleurs il meurt ; ici il périt encore dans le sein maternel, et ailleurs il est détruit dès l’instant de la naissance.

Word by Word

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (whose)

• dehasya: of the body
• dehasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• dharmaḥ: property/nature
• dharmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ayam: this
• ayam: Visheshana (Demonstrative/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; निर्देश (this)

• kvacit: sometimes
• kvacit: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देश/कालवाचक (somewhere/sometime)

• jāyet: may be born/is born
• jāyet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; धातु: जन् (to be born)

• kvacit: sometimes
• kvacit: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; (sometimes)

• mriyet: may die/dies
• mriyet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mṛ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; धातु: मृ (to die)

• kvacit: sometimes
• kvacit: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; (sometimes)

• garbha-gatam: gone into the womb/embryonic
• garbha-gatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: garbha + gata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष: गर्भे गतम् (gone into the womb)

• naśyet: may perish/perishes
• naśyet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: naś (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; धातु: नश् (to perish)

• jāta-mātram: just born/newborn
• jāta-mātram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāta + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: जातं (newly born) + मात्रम् (mere/just)

• kvacit: sometimes
• kvacit: Adhikarana (Location/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; (sometimes)

• tathā: thus/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus/so)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wheel of life showing stages: womb, infant, youth, elder, funeral pyre—arranged as a mandala; a sage points to the wheel to teach impermanence.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The body is unstable and perishable; one should seek lasting spiritual purpose rather than depend on bodily certainty.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it sets a renunciatory mood that supports the Himavat-tapas narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; the verse functions as a doctrinal reminder of impermanence.