Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

पश्यतां सर्वमेतेषां पापमेकेन भुज्यते । परं हि सुखमुत्सृज्य कर्शयन्वै कलेवरम्

Transliteration

paśyatāṃ sarvameteṣāṃ pāpamekena bhujyate | paraṃ hi sukhamutsṛjya karśayanvai kalevaram

Translation

ഇവരെല്ലാം നോക്കി നിൽക്കുമ്പോഴും പാപഭാരം ഒരുവൻ മാത്രം അനുഭവിക്കുന്നു; പരമസുഖം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് ദുഃഖഭാരത്തിൽ അവൻ തന്റെ ദേഹം ക്ഷയിപ്പിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• paśyatām: (you all) see!
• paśyatām: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paśy (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन; ‘(you all) see!’

• sarvam: all, entire
• sarvam: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (pāpam)

• eteṣām: of these (people)
• eteṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक (सामान्य), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• pāpam: sin, evil (karmic demerit)
• pāpam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ekena: by one (person)
• ekena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• bhujyate: is experienced/suffered
• bhujyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• param: supreme, highest
• param: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (sukham)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अवधान/हेतौ ‘indeed/for’

• sukham: happiness, comfort
• sukham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• utsṛjya: having abandoned
• utsṛjya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ut-sṛj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘having abandoned’

• karśayan: emaciating, tormenting
• karśayan: Karta (Agent as participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛś (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle), परस्मैपद; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘while emaciating’

• vai: indeed, surely
• vai: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• kalevaram: body
• kalevaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalevara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solitary figure (Indra or a kingly personage) weakened, seated apart while crowds look on; the body appears burdened, with a shadowy ‘pāpa’ motif hovering, indicating inner torment.

Characters & Entities

• Pāpa
• Karma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karma is ultimately personal: spectators may praise or blame, but the doer alone must undergo the inner fruit of pāpa or puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse emphasizes the universality of karmic experience, a theme often resolved through tīrtha and tapas in Purāṇas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it highlights the necessity of genuine transformation and expiation beyond mere public appearance.