Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 130

Devanagari script

ततो बहुविधा योनीः परिक्रम्यास्मि कर्षितः । ब्राह्मणस्य च गेहेस्यां योनौ जातोऽतिदुःखितः

Transliteration

tato bahuvidhā yonīḥ parikramyāsmi karṣitaḥ | brāhmaṇasya ca gehesyāṃ yonau jāto'tiduḥkhitaḥ

Translation

Puis, après avoir erré à travers maintes sortes de naissances, je fus accablé par la misère ; et je naquis dans la maison d’un brāhmaṇa, mais même en cette vie je fus cruellement affligé.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे ‘तस्मात्/ततः’ (thereafter/from that)

• bahuvidhāḥ: of many kinds/various
• bahuvidhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu-vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying implied ‘aham’/speaker’s states)

• yonīḥ: wombs/births
• yonīḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; कर्म (object)

• parikramya: having traversed/going through
• parikramya: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial to main verb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pari-√kram (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) = having gone around/after traversing

• asmi: I am
• asmi: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष? actually उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; ‘अस्मि’ = I am

• karṣitaḥ: afflicted/tormented
• karṣitaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √kṛṣ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भावे/कर्मणि—‘drawn/afflicted’ (predicate adjective to ‘asmi’)

• brāhmaṇasya: of a Brahmin
• brāhmaṇasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक conjunction) = and

• gehe: in the house
• gehe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण (location)

• syām: I was/ I became
• syām: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; ‘स्याम्’ = I might be/was (contextually ‘I was’)

• yonau: in a womb
• yonau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण (in a womb)

• jātaḥ: born
• jātaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √jan (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘born’ (predicate to implied ‘aham’)

• ati-duḥkhitaḥ: extremely miserable
• ati-duḥkhitaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ati + duḥkhita (प्रातिपदिक; duḥkhita from √duḥkh/√kha? lexical)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-समास (ati + duḥkhita) = exceedingly miserable

Speaker

A suffering narrator (unnamed in this snippet; within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa discourse tradition)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A weary soul narrates his long wandering through many births; a brāhmaṇa household appears in the background, yet the figure is shown emaciated and sorrowful, emphasizing the paradox of noble birth with intense suffering.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A high social birth does not cancel karmic residue; inner purification and dharma are essential.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No pilgrimage site is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription appears; the verse sets a moral context about karma and suffering.