Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

त्रिवर्गो हि यथा पुंसां कृतो हि सुपरिष्कृतः । विपरीतो भवत्येव विना देवेन नान्यथा

Transliteration

trivargo hi yathā puṃsāṃ kṛto hi supariṣkṛtaḥ | viparīto bhavatyeva vinā devena nānyathā

Translation

Même les « trois buts de la vie » des hommes, si bien ordonnés (dharma, artha, kāma), deviennent leur contraire sans le Deva, le Seigneur divin ; il ne peut en être autrement.

Word by Word

• त्रिवर्गः: the triad (three aims/classes)
• त्रिवर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि (संख्या) + वर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः (त्रयः वर्गाः)

• हि: indeed, for
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अव्यय; हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ-प्रयोग

• यथा: as, just as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/यथार्थक (as/just as)

• पुंसाम्: of men
• पुंसाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुंस्/पुम्स् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• कृतः: made, done
• कृतः: Karma (Predicate participle relating to subject/कर्म-भाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: कृ-धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अव्यय

• सुपरिष्कृतः: well-refined, well-arranged
• सुपरिष्कृतः: Visheshana (Adjective of त्रिवर्गः/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + परि (उपसर्ग) + कृ (धातु)
• Form: परि+कृ-धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; ‘सु’ उपसर्गेण विशेषित; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• विपरीतः: reversed, contrary
• विपरीतः: Visheshya-predicative (Predicate adjective/विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विपरीत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भवति: becomes
• भवति: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• एव: certainly, indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis)

• विना: without
• विना: Apadana (Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; वियोगार्थ उपपद, तृतीया-योग्य (without + Instr.)

• देवेन: with the God; by God (i.e., without God)
• देवेन: Apadana (Object of ‘vinā’/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• अन्यथा: otherwise
• अन्यथा: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (otherwise)

Speaker

Devas (the gods), within Sūta’s narration to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-seeking interlocutors/ṛṣis (Kedārakhaṇḍa audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic moment in the Himalayan divine assembly: the truth that human aims invert without the Lord is proclaimed against a backdrop of snow peaks and a distant Kedāra shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Deva (Lord)
• Trivarga (dharma-artha-kāma)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human goals succeed only when rooted in devotion and divine alignment; otherwise even ‘good’ pursuits become destructive.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; the chapter occurs within Kedārakhaṇḍa’s Kedāra-centered sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse teaches a dharma principle: the trivarga must be guided by the Deva.