Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

तत्स्वरूपं भोगरूपं तुर्यातीतमनोपमम् । विभ्रांतकरणं मूर्तं प्रकृतिस्थं च शाश्वतम्

Transliteration

tatsvarūpaṃ bhogarūpaṃ turyātītamanopamam | vibhrāṃtakaraṇaṃ mūrtaṃ prakṛtisthaṃ ca śāśvatam

Translation

ആ തത്ത്വം തന്നെയാണ് സ്വസ്വരൂപം; ഭോഗരൂപമായും അത് പ്രത്യക്ഷമാകുന്നു. അത് തുര്യാതീത മനസ്സിനോടു ഉപമിക്കാം; എങ്കിലും കരണമാർഗ്ഗേന പ്രവർത്തിക്കുന്നതും, മൂർത്തമെന്നും, പ്രകൃതിസ്ഥമെന്നും, ശാശ്വതമെന്നും പറയപ്പെടുന്നു.

Word by Word

• तत्स्वरूपम्: its essential nature
• तत्स्वरूपम्: Karma/Viśeṣya (Object/Qualified term)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + स्वरूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (neuter nom/acc sg; ‘its true form’)

• भोगरूपम्: the form of enjoyment/experience
• भोगरूपम्: Karma/Viśeṣya (Object/Qualified term)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोग (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (neuter nom/acc sg)

• तुर्यातीतमनोपमम्: incomparable to mind, transcending the fourth (turyātīta)
• तुर्यातीतमनोपमम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुर्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अतीत (कृदन्त; √इ (धातु) + क्त, ‘gone beyond’) + मनस् (प्रातिपदिक) + उपम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष, विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• विभ्रान्तकरणम्: having (or: with) bewildered instruments/senses
• विभ्रान्तकरणम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विभ्रान्त (कृदन्त; √भ्रम् (धातु) + क्त, ‘confused’) + करण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• मूर्तम्: embodied, manifest
• मूर्तम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• प्रकृतिस्थम्: abiding in prakṛti (nature)
• प्रकृतिस्थम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रकृति (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (कृदन्त; √स्था (धातु) + क्त, ‘standing/abiding’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष, क्त-कृदन्ताधारित विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (indeclinable; conjunction ‘and’)

• शाश्वतम्: eternal
• शाश्वतम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाश्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (neuter nom/acc sg; adjective)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A split yet unified tableau: on one side, a luminous formless expanse (turīyātīta); on the other, the same light animating a human figure engaged in sensory life—eyes, hands, and mind depicted as instruments—while a subtle thread shows their source in the eternal reality.

Characters & Entities

• Turīya
• Prakṛti
• Karaṇa (sense-instruments)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Supreme is beyond ordinary states of consciousness, yet it is also immanent—appearing as experience and as the embodied world-process while remaining eternal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a contemplative description supporting yogic understanding.