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

ਇਹ ਮਨੁੱਖੀ ਦੇਹ ਐਸੀ ਹੀ ਹੈ—ਗਰਭ ਤੋਂ ਹੀ ਦੁਖਦਾਈ—ਹੱਡੀਆਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਤਖਤੀਆਂ ਤੇ ਸਤੰਭਾਂ ਦੇ ਢਾਂਚੇ ਵਾਂਗ, ਨਾੜੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਬੰਧਨਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਕੱਸ ਕੇ ਬੱਝੀ ਹੋਈ।

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.