Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

जन्मांतरशतैर्देवि योगो वा यदि लभ्यते । मोक्षस्य च सहस्रेण जन्मनां लभ्यते न च

Transliteration

janmāṃtaraśatairdevi yogo vā yadi labhyate | mokṣasya ca sahasreṇa janmanāṃ labhyate na ca

Translation

Ô Devī, même si le Yoga s’obtient après des centaines de naissances, la délivrance (mokṣa) ne s’obtient pas, fût-ce après mille naissances.

Word by Word

• जन्मान्तरशतैः: by hundreds of other births
• जन्मान्तरशतैः: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जन्मान्तराणां शतैः)

• देवि: O Goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• योगः: yoga/union (spiritual discipline)
• योगः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Alternative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: or)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्त-अव्यय (conditional particle: if)

• लभ्यते: is obtained
• लभ्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense)

• मोक्षस्य: of liberation
• मोक्षस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• सहस्रेण: by a thousand
• सहस्रेण: Karana (Measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

• जन्मनाम्: of births
• जन्मनाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• लभ्यते: is obtained
• लभ्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense)

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

• च: and/nor
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (here: reinforcing negation ‘nor’)

Speaker

Śiva (addressing Devī/Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic timeline motif: many lifetimes represented as a long garland of births; a yogin attaining yoga after many beads, yet mokṣa still distant; the horizon shows Prabhāsa as a luminous shortcut to liberation (foreshadowing next verse).

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Yoga
• Mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Yoga and especially mokṣa are exceedingly rare through ordinary effort across lifetimes—setting the stage for the extraordinary grace of Prabhāsa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra is the implied context; the verse contrasts normal spiritual difficulty with the kṣetra’s exceptional promise in the surrounding verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is a doctrinal statement about the rarity of yoga and mokṣa across births.