Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

जीवः प्रविष्टो गर्भं तु कलले प्रतितिष्ठति । मूढश्च कलले तत्र मासमात्रं च तिष्ठति

Transliteration

jīvaḥ praviṣṭo garbhaṃ tu kalale pratitiṣṭhati | mūḍhaśca kalale tatra māsamātraṃ ca tiṣṭhati

Translation

ജീവൻ ഗർഭത്തിൽ പ്രവേശിക്കുമ്പോൾ, അവൻ കലല (ഭ്രൂണദ്രവരാശി)യിൽ സ്ഥാപിതനാകുന്നു. അവിടെ ആ കലലത്തിനുള്ളിൽ മോഹിതനായി ഏകദേശം ഒരു മാസം താമസിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• जीवः: the soul, living being
• जीवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जीव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• प्रविष्टः: having entered
• प्रविष्टः: Karta (Agent as participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-√विश् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past active/PPP usage) ‘having entered’

• गर्भम्: womb, embryo
• गर्भम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• तु: but, indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/अन्वयबोधक निपात (contrastive particle)

• कलले: in the kalala stage (embryonic mass)
• कलले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• प्रतितिष्ठति: settles, becomes established
• प्रतितिष्ठति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-√स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; parasmaipada

• मूढः: bewildered, inert
• मूढः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूढ (कृदन्त; √मुह्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त ‘bewildered’

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

• कलले: in the kalala
• कलले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• मासमात्रम्: for just a month
• मासमात्रम्: Karma (Extent/measure as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; अवधी/परिमाणवाचक तत्पुरुष (मासस्य मात्रम्)

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

• तिष्ठति: stays, remains
• तिष्ठति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; parasmaipada

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), by section-wide deduction (Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narration to sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dim, enclosed womb-space rendered symbolically as a dark lotus-bud; within it a tiny luminous jīva curled, surrounded by watery kalala; the face shows confusion, emphasizing moha and vulnerability.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Embodied life begins in ignorance and limitation; remembering this supports detachment and dharmic living.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse; the focus is on the jīva’s entry into embodied existence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit vrata, dāna, snāna, or japa is prescribed in this verse.