Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

न तस्य विलयो जन्म वर्धनं चापि सत्तम । मलभांडे नवद्वारे पूयासृक्छोणितालये

Transliteration

na tasya vilayo janma vardhanaṃ cāpi sattama | malabhāṃḍe navadvāre pūyāsṛkchoṇitālaye

Translation

Wahai yang terbaik antara makhluk! Bagi Dia (Brahman) tiada peleburan, tiada kelahiran, dan tiada pertumbuhan. Namun bejana kotor ini, yang mempunyai sembilan pintu, ialah tempat nanah, darah dan darah merah.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• tasya: of that (Brahman)
• tasya: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• vilayaḥ: dissolution
• vilayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vilaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

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

• vardhanam: growth
• vardhanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vardhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक अव्यय (also/even)

• sattama: O best one
• sattama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat + tama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; 'श्रेष्ठ' इत्यर्थे

• malabhāṇḍe: in a vessel of filth
• malabhāṇḍe: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mala + bhāṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: मलस्य भाण्डे = 'in a vessel of filth'

• navadvāre: in the nine-gated (body)
• navadvāre: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nava + dvāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; द्विगु: नव द्वाराणि यस्मिन् (शरीरे)

• pūyāsṛkchoṇitālaye: in an abode of pus and blood
• pūyāsṛkchoṇitālaye: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūya + asṛk + śoṇita + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: पूय-असृक-शोणितानाम् आलये = 'in an abode of pus, blood, and gore'

Speaker

Munayaḥ (the sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setutīrtha (Setukṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A split-symbolic tableau: on one side, a formless radiant Brahman beyond time; on the other, a schematic ‘nine-gated city’ body shown as a fragile vessel, emphasizing impermanence and impurity without gore-heavy literalism.

Characters & Entities

• Brahman
• Navadvāra (nine gates of the body)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Brahman is beyond change, while the body is impure and transient; detachment supports liberation-oriented living.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Setu/Rāmeśvaram narrative setting frames the teaching, linking tīrtha-purity with inner dispassion and knowledge.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a contemplative instruction meant to generate vairāgya.