Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

एवंविधं हि मानुऽयमा गर्भादिति कष्टदम् । अस्थिपट्टतुलास्तम्भे स्नायुबन्धेन यंत्रिते

Transliteration

evaṃvidhaṃ hi mānu'yamā garbhāditi kaṣṭadam | asthipaṭṭatulāstambhe snāyubandhena yaṃtrite

Translation

असाच हा मानवी देह—गर्भापासूनच क्लेशदायक; हाडांच्या पट्ट्या व स्तंभांच्या चौकटीसारखा, स्नायूंच्या बंधनाने जखडलेला।

Word by Word

• evaṃvidham: of such a kind
• evaṃvidham: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: evaṃ (अव्यय) + vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (evaṃ-vidha = “of such a kind”); नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: emphasis/indeed)

• mānuṣyam: human state; humanity (human body/life)
• mānuṣyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• garbhāt: from the womb
• garbhāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्तिसूचक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• kaṣṭadam: pain-giving; difficult
• kaṣṭadam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kaṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + da (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (kaṣṭa-da = “giving trouble”); नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (mānuṣyam)

• asthi-paṭṭa-tulā-stambhe: in a pillar/frame of bone-plates and balances
• asthi-paṭṭa-tulā-stambhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asthi (प्रातिपदिक) + paṭṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + tulā (प्रातिपदिक) + stambha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष-समास (determinative); पुंलिङ्ग (m.), सप्तमी (Loc.), एकवचन

• snāyu-bandhena: by a binding of sinews
• snāyu-bandhena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāyu (प्रातिपदिक) + bandha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग (m.), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• yaṃtrite: constrained; held in a mechanism
• yaṃtrite: Adhikarana (Location-qualifier/अधिकरणविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √yamtr/√yantr (धातु) → yantrita (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), सप्तमी (Loc.), एकवचन; (gṛhe/śarīre implied)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An allegorical depiction of the body as a scaffold: bone-pillars and plank-like ribs, sinew-ropes binding; a contemplative sage points to it, evoking dispassion.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It cultivates dispassion by portraying the body as a constrained, suffering structure, not a reliable basis for identity or attachment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No location is mentioned; the verse is a contemplation on embodiment used to support dharma and renunciation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it functions as meditative instruction (body-contemplation) to weaken attachment.