Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुव जन्म मृतस्य च । बहवश्चाऽस्य वेत्तारो वद केनापि वार्यते

Transliteration

jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyurdhruva janma mṛtasya ca | bahavaścā'sya vettāro vada kenāpi vāryate

Translation

Bagi yang lahir, kematian itu pasti; dan bagi yang telah mati, kelahiran pun pasti. Banyak yang mengetahui kebenaran ini—katakanlah, oleh siapa hal ini dapat dicegah?

Word by Word

• jātasya: of one who is born
• jātasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāta (कृदन्त; √jan (धातु))
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘जात’ = born; here used as षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/समर्थक

• dhruvaḥ: certain
• dhruvaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival to mṛtyuḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण

• mṛtyuḥ: death
• mṛtyuḥ: Karta/Subject (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• dhruvam: certain
• dhruvam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival to janma)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (janma)

• janma: birth
• janma: Karta/Subject (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• mṛtasya: of one who has died
• mṛtasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त; √mṛ (धातु))
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) ‘मृत’ = dead; षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध

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

• bahavaḥ: many
• bahavaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival to vettāraḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विशेषण (vettāraḥ)

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

• asya: of this (one)
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• vettāraḥ: knowers
• vettāraḥ: Karta/Subject (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vetṛ (प्रातिपदिक; from √vid (धातु) ‘to know’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्तृवाचक (agent noun)

• vada: tell/say
• vada: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vad (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• kena: by whom/with what
• kena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• api: even/also
• api: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि = even/also

• vāryate: is prevented/warded off
• vāryate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛ (धातु) (causative sense ‘to prevent/ward off’)
• Form: लट् (Present/वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Kāmakhyā Devī

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A royal/epic interlocutor (addressed elsewhere as Bhāratarṣabha)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative discourse scene: a teacher-figure addressing a grieving or questioning listener, with symbolic imagery of a turning wheel (saṃsāra) and a cremation-ground silhouette in the distance to underscore inevitability.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Contemplation on the inevitability of death and the cycle of birth reduces delusion and steadies the mind in dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse is a general philosophical teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.